Joint Venture
by Callisto5
Summary: Separate paths cross, rivals acknowlege their common ground
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters, they are owned by others . I'm not making any money off this.

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Author's note: This story isn't the sequel to 'The things I do'_ that I mentioned at the conclusion . Instead I am submitting this tale while I gather my thoughts on the sequel. I truly hope all those who honor me with reading this story enjoy it._

Joint Venture

Chapter 1

By Callisto

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Lindbergh Field 

Denver, CO 

The morning was bright and sunny and held a gentle promise of the pleasant day to come. Inside the dim warehouse confines were a handful of task force detectives rummaging through the remains of a madman's lair. One of the group stood quietly just inside the open door, unhappily watching his colleagues as they shifted about hoping to find a clue. 

"Hey, Douglas instead of holding up the wall, how about coming in here and giving the rest of us a hand?" Field Lieutenant Randall asked with heavy sarcasm. The Lieutenant had grudgingly accepted the newcomer onto his team, mainly because his commander refused to hear any argument. So far, this pretty boy had offered plenty of suggestions and helped them better organize their efforts--which Randall had to concede was a big contribution but had yet to deliver on any of his suppositions or point out the serial killer who had already claimed 6 lives. Randall continued to be a hard ass, mainly for the sake of his men who were beyond frustration and had been tagged as incompetent and not up to the job by the media and by some of their publicity hungry colleagues.

Jarod shrugged himself away from the doorway and walked carefully towards the others. He stopped abruptly three feet from the center of the scene and stood still. Randall who had expected Jarod to walk over to him, looked over his shoulder, slightly surprised not to find Jarod there. He turned in irritation towards the doorway, believing Jarod had ignored him and instead out of the corner of his eye, saw his subordinate standing unexpectedly in the middle of the room. Irritated impatience suffused Randall's features as he asked in a loud voice, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

"He's the only one doing what he should by attempting to preserve what the rest of you seem bent on destroying--valuable evidence." A deeply melodic female voice answered. The lieutenant and most of his team looked up at the doorway to find a woman flanked by two tall, bureaucratic types the government specializes in churning out of their academies.

"My name is Agent Summers, you're in my crime scene now and I believe you are destroying what little evidence the perpetrator left behind," she continued forcefully, staring directly into Lieutenant Randall' eyes. "Kindly, leave." 

Randall, finally being supplied a target to vent his mounting frustration on, squared his shoulders and stared at the woman. She was slightly built, of medium height with dark brown, almost black hair, dark complexioned and sporting a hard expression.

"We called you people in to assist us, not to start barking orders. Besides that, we asked for you over two weeks ago. You sure did take your sweet time getting out here," Randall replied evenly. "Let's set the record straight. This is our crime scene, our case. We asked for you folks to come down in a support capacity, however that was before Douglas here," Randall nodded slightly in Jarod's direction, "came on the scene. As it stands, we have enough hands in the pot without adding some showboating, glory-hounds to the mix." 

The woman stared evenly at Randall during his short speech. The anger in her eyes was evident but tightly controlled. Jarod, as well as the rest of the task force members watched the power struggle with interest. If the FBI took over now, they would all be shoved into the background and delegated to fetching coffee and reports instead of actively working the case. 

"You rang the bell, it's too late to try and unring it now. My delay isn't important. The Unsub hasn't committed any further crimes that we're aware of yet but we're fast approaching his deadline. I suggest we get started. That happens by all of your men leaving, when my people are finished with the scene, we'll share our analysis," Agent Summers said dismissively, cautiously watching the expression of anger in her opponent's eyes. She had been through this sort of turf war before and would undoubtedly go through it again with another male cop who felt his competence and command were based solely on his ability to control those around him.

"We've already had our tech people process the scene, that's why we're out here now. If you would like to take a look at the evidence they've already gathered then you'll be third on the list. You came late to the table and scraps are all you're going to get, lady." Randall replied with satisfaction. Turning to his people he said, "Come on fellas, the FBI is here and wants to have a belated look. Let's wrap this up." Randall shook his head slightly and then brushed past the agents with a look of disgust on his face. One by one the rest of the task force followed suit. Jarod remained where he was standing until all his fellow team members had left. During their verbal sparring, Jarod had watched both his boss and the FBI agent with interest. Both were probably talented and good at what they did but they also shared the pressure of resolving this case too quickly from impatient and media-conscious bosses. 

Jarod stepped back from the object he had been protecting and retrieving a small digital camera from the inside pocket of his leather jacket, started taking pictures of the small marker left behind by the crime scene techs. He took a total of 4 pictures and then backed off.

"A vial containing an unknown substance was found on that spot. We haven't any idea as to it's significance and the techs collected it along with the rest of the most relevant evidence. I'll have them preserve some of it for your labs as well," Jarod said quietly in response to Agent Summers unspoken question. He was about to leave when he stopped just short of the door and turned with a slight smile on his lips. "You don't have to worry too much about them trampling over the evidence or destroying any of it, I supervised its collection. Happy hunting." With that, Jarod left the stressed out FBI agent and her colleagues to shift through the remains. 

Several days latter, after more intra-agency infighting and reports having returned back from the labs, the task force was still at a loss of figuring out the killer's motive or what his next move would be. Also during this time, Agent Summers discovered that Jarod was a FBI-trained profiler recently added to the task force in the wake of her delay. From what Summers was able to make out, he had practically reorganized the unit's focus and had drawn up a profile of the Unsub that was identical to her own independent examination. The rest of the task force was comprised of a talented group of local law enforcement officers committed to stopping the serial poisoner. 

The next incident occurred the following week. Following her preparation of her son's morning bottle, dizziness overcame a young mother of two who, out of habit, tested the temperature of the milk she had just prepared for her infant. Seconds after splashing a small dollop of milk on her wrist she absently dipped a finger in the liquid and tasted it. That was enough to quickly render her unconscious where her 4 year old toddler found her on the kitchen floor. The boy walked to a neighbor's house seeking help, worried about his Mommy sleeping in the kitchen.

The task force along with the FBI sprang into action, backtracked where the mother had brought the tainted formula, had the store pull the remainder of the formula off the shelves and obtained information on all the customers who brought the formula using the bar-code scanner to track all non-cash paying patrons. The task force spent the time-consuming effort with the help of local law enforcement in finding and interviewing each customer and collecting the formula they had brought. 

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The Centre

Blue Cove, DE 

Standing across the main mezzanine area of the Centre, Sydney watched his former colleague with concern. For the past eighteen months or more, she had been officially pulled from the Jarod pursuit and was now working closely with Mr. Raines. It had taken a few months after the overthrow of the past regime for Raines to realize the support structure he needed in order to run a monolith like the Centre had been effectively dismantled. His brother, out of paranoia--well founded in this case, had thoroughly scattered his own well-oiled machine of talented and dependable people. Those left behind had hidden agendas of their own which were highly suspect to Raines. As it turned out, it was Miss Parker, who made no secret of her hatred and disdain for him that turned out to be the only person he could trust. He knew she hated him, on that he could rely and served to make her reactions predictable, but he knew she was competent. So, in an effort to secure her assistance, he decided to change the direction of his threats as well as her focus. Summoning her into his office, he boldly laid bare his dilemma and a fresh proposal for her continued service to the Centre. First, he would pull her from the Jarod pursuit, stating he understood her distaste of the project and Jarod's unusual habit which bordered on the sadistic of uncovering the sordid underbelly of her family's conduct and corruption. He kept to himself the real reason he wanted her off the pursuit was he feared Jarod's clues were starting to get through to her despite her training and losing her altogether because of Jarod's interference was a situation he would never allow--even if it meant her untimely termination. To keep her further distracted from any reasonable yearnings, like wanting a normal life, Raines entrusted her with running most of the routine operations of the massive corporation while diligently keeping her away from the seamier side of Centre reality. The results were what he had been hoping for, Miss Parker effortlessly attracted a group of competent Centre loyalists around her and the beginnings of dependable machine began to form.

Sydney watched these events develop discontentedly. His contacts sprinkled throughout the Centre's hierarchy kept him well informed. He knew Raines was up to something and apparently keeping Parker in the fold was part of his plan. Sydney decided to bide his time before approaching her and finding out what was said to entice her to cooperate with the one person she hated above all else. He watched as his friend and former colleague was drawn deeper into the organization as her mother had decades before. Sydney was afraid for Parker, knowing the corruptive power of the Centre and the strange way it had of changing the best of people or crushing them. 

Parker had a strained expression on her face as she walked distractedly through the main mezzanine towards her office trailed by her ever present bodyguard. The extremely intimidating sweeper swore allegiance to protect Miss Parker and took his role very seriously. Respectful stares followed her wherever she went and too often sycophants brazenly followed after her ready to do her bidding. The deal she had struck with Raines kept her in line but still had the power to disgust her to the core. Like her `father', Raines wanted her help, only this `father' wanted her assistance in running a Centre whose employees didn't trust him and wouldn't work for him. In exchange, she would enjoy the same level of freedom she had with Mr. Parker. All her privileges would remain intact and she would finally be freed from the albatross of trying to return Jarod. She had stared at her mother's murderer with unrelenting contempt. Raines had assured her that should she decline his offer, the current level of surveillance on her life would be heightened and any deviation from his directives would result in her immediate termination along with those closest to her who might feel compelled to protest or retaliate. Before her throat would tighten any further in frustration, Parker nodded her acceptance. She understood that it might be the last thing she did, but she was determined to permanently free herself from the soul-leaching presence of this air-sucking ghoul. 


	2. Motivations

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Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

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Joint Venture

Chapter II

By Callisto

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Task Force Headquarters 

Denver, CO 

Working late became his favorite time of the day. At that time, none of the higher ups, FBI snoops or moronic, insolent co-workers were around to make his life harder. The illumination from his computer monitor lit his face as he stared unblinkingly into the light. Finally, Teddy sat back from the screen, rubbed the back of his neck wearily and heaved a deep, cleansing sigh. A thought struck him and as he was about to run down the lead his imagination had just dreamed up, a soft resonant voice addressed him. 

"Still here, Teddy? I thought you would have left with everyone else," Jarod stated in an even, friendly voice. 

Theodore Katz looked up startled. He hadn't expected anyone joining him and if pressed to admit it, he didn't particularly like his co-workers either. From the shadows of the darkened bull pen, a tall, good-looking man emerged carrying a thick sheaf of papers and munching on a cinnamon roll. Teddy unconsciously watched Jarod approach with open admiration. Alpha male, with animal magnetism dripping off him like hog sweat and how this guy could actually eat some of the stuff he did and continue to look so ripped was beyond him. Fortunately for Teddy, he was currently enjoying a long-term relationship with a the kind of man he had always hoped to meet. However, that didn't preclude him from enjoying the sight of Jarod's wiry, muscular physique, striking face and easy-going manner.

"Hey there, Jarod. Pull up a chair and keep me company. It gets lonely around here, sometimes." 

"What are you still doing here?"

"Checking out some facts and trying to run down a few things that keep niggling at me. What's your excuse? I would have thought a guy like you would have someone warm and willing to snuggle up to on long dark nights," Teddy stated with a sly smile on his face. 

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by `a guy like me' and to answer your question I want to go over some of these lab analysis before handing them over to the FBI," Jarod answered, purposely ignoring the latter part of Teddy's comment.

Teddy chuckled amusedly. He had been trying to flirt with Jarod since the guy first joined the Task Force but all his attempts were tactfully deflected. There was a rumor that Jarod was possibly gay, especially since he had deflated the egos of a couple of the most willing and nubile of department groupies, who blatantly vied for his attention but met the same fate as Teddy's friendly innuendos. It took Teddy about 5 seconds to realize Jarod wasn't homosexual but he didn't bother sharing his own conclusions with anyone, especially since their co-workers probably wouldn't have listened anyway. 

Teddy was the workhorse of the unit, in much the same way as Broots was for the Centre's pursuit team. He was responsible for transferring to a special program he created, the transcripts of numerous field interviews with store clerks, customers as well as the voluminous tips obtained from the 800 tip line the state of Colorado had set up in an effort to catch the bio-terrorist. 

"Brother, you sure would make someone a happy man. I tell ya, it's a waste--a total waste!"

Jarod looked up with a small smile on his face and shaking his head slowly, he returned his attention to the dense information contained in the report. Without looking up he asked, "Have you found anything interesting in the interviews?" 

"Nope. Our guy is in there somewhere, we just haven't a clue where. Everyone has seen someone doing something suspicious--usually their neighbor. Any joy from the lab techs?"

"So far, nothing," he answered absently, meticulously reexamining the pages he had already gone over. Teddy watched Jarod as he read, enjoying the view, when another thought hit him.

"Uh, Jarod. When is the last time you went home? Staring at this stuff will drive you nuts. You need to de-stress."

"I've rented an apartment not too far away from here," came the distracted response. 

"Well, what I was thinking of is a special place designed to relax and calm. Frank has a cabin about 45 minutes out of town. It's nice, secluded and no one around here knows about it." Suddenly struck with a notion, Teddy reached into his pocket and quickly unhooking the key, stiffly got out of his chair, stretched and ambled over to Jarod and slid the key next to his hand. "It's yours while you're here. Just give me some warning when you leave so I can clean things up a bit. Frank is a regular fuss bucket, speaking of which, I think I'll be calling it a night and see what he's cooked up for dinner." 

Looking up surprised, Jarod replied, "Thanks but this isn't necessary." 

Teddy smiled and nodded knowingly. "You've been here everyday until late and you're the first one here in the morning. Burning the candle from both ends doesn't leave much of yourself to hang on to. Keep the key and use it this coming weekend. I tell you, a couple days in the forest with the trees, nature and flora and fauna is just what the doctor ordered."

"Why?"

"You're one of the good guys, this I can tell. And I have a feeling that you're going to be the one solving this case before anyone figures out what the first clue means. Don't stay too late."

During his speech, Teddy walked back to his computer, shut it down and started straightening and gathering up his belongings. When he received no answer, Teddy turned around and looked over at Jarod who returned to the report. Shrugging, Teddy headed for the door, passing up Jarod. He glanced at the spot where he left the key and noticed it was gone. With a small smile, Teddy headed home to great cooking and someone who loved him.

**__**

The Centre

Blue Cove, DE 

Parker had just finished packing her briefcase and was giving instructions to her secretary when Sydney showed up, unannounced. He waited patiently standing to one side of the doorway until she finished. Glancing at her former pursuit colleague, she nodded curtly and issued her last instruction before dismissing the young man. Consciously avoiding the questions in Sydney's eyes, she fastidiously shuffled the papers on her desk. Sydney watched her impassively for several seconds before approaching the desk. 

"What does he have you doing now?" he asked quietly. He had stood by and said nothing when Raines took her off the Jarod pursuit and he still remained silent as he watched his friend being pulled further into the Centre, its concerns and daily operations. Now he needed to know what was going on and if there was any chance he could possibly help her. 

"Bug hunt. Project development lost one of their talented researchers. Now he's out and about spreading his poison to an unsuspecting populace and I'm being sent to either return or neutralize him," she answered flatly.

"It's strange. I remember when another Centre chairman asked you to neutralize a problem who turned out to be you're twin. I wonder if there is a twist to this assignment as well." 

With a deadpan expression, she stated, "He could always be a long lost uncle or perhaps an aunt who had a sex change operation and the hormones are driving her nuts. With this place, you never know." 

"Parker…" Sydney started as he took a step towards her. 

She stopped abruptly, fixing him with a bitter stare before speaking. "No. Don't Sydney. There isn't anything you can say at this point. Its been close to two years since Raines took control, in that time I've realized that everything is too late and I'm too tired and jaded for any of the secrets or lies to hold any interest. The only truth I know and that matters is what is written on my heart. My mother loved me and gave me the most happiest times of my life. Nowadays, I automatically assume I'm being lied to and used. " 

"So you'll continue to do their bidding, without question or pause? Parker you're better than that," he said sadly with marked disappointment. 

"You're right about one thing. The current Chairman has proposed a new deal, one that you should be happy to hear: I'm permanently off the Jarod pursuit. No more moral challenges or conundrums. In exchange for being relieved of the `capture Jarod' challenge, I am now responsible for rebuilding what the last chairman tore down. Part of the deal is that this will be the _last _hunt for me." Parker picked up her briefcase and walking to the door, she paused, placing her hand on the doorknob. "Now, that's a deal I can live with." She looked at her friend feeling empty and hollow inside, then left.

Sydney stood in her empty office for several minutes. He regretted that there weren't any arguments he could have used to convince her to resist Raines' manipulations. For those few minutes he felt at a loss and wondered how many pieces of his heart and soul remained. With some surprise, he felt an indescribably large chunk of his better essence walk out of the door with her. A sense of resolve over came him when he finally left the office, determined to help his friend to the best of his ability. The first step in doing this was to find out exactly what was going on and a certain nervous friend of his would facilitate these first steps. 

**__**

Hydroponics Botanical Garden 

Sub-level 5

Mark Huang was a lazy, lay about. That is to say he was lazy without being downright slothful. The fact that he was an accomplished shot with any weapon was the sole reason he remained in the employ of the Centre. He knew there were only 20 minutes left before his and the other teams followed the boss out to the latest assignment. Despite his faults, Mark had the strange knack for being in the right place at the right time and although it irritated him to no end, he had the unusual ability of finding out valuable information with little effort, though it did cut into his loafing time. Today was no exception, surrounded by thick, artificially supplemented and supported lush greenery, Mark was thoroughly enjoying his stolen moment of solitude when an unexpected interruption showed up uninvited.

Lyle was never one to take being passed over for a promotion easily. Despite his rocky past with the current Chairman, Lyle felt that his rightful spot had been given to his morally squeamish and undeserving twin. He had always given his best for the Centre and put the corporation first when its concerns dovetailed in line with his own ambitions. Why hold it against him that he had tried to kill, imprison and lead a coup against his 'father'? All that was done at the bidding of his former parent. However, Lyle was equal to any task and eager to show his abilities to his real employers--the Triumvirate. Barring that, he had his eyes on a Sub-Chairmanship at the Centre's main competitor, the Lyman Institute. Feeling confident in the strength of his plans, Lyle wanted to vent his displeasure in an inventive way--by imposing his will on his sister, all of course, to his own advantage. Royce, the Director's chief assistant had important information on which Lyle's Centre strategy hinged. He had chosen the Hydroponics lab as a secluded spot in which obtain his latest update. An old fashioned merger was in the works and his sister was a main component. As Lyle discussed the final elements of his plan with his ally, Mark shrunk back behind a hearty Fichus tree, listening to the conversation with unfettered disgust.

As a sweeper, he was expected to perform all duties as assigned with unflinching loyalty. His last boss, Brigitte, had demanded this of all her employees. Unfortunately, the beautiful Brigitte had certain deficiencies which included matching wits with the powers that be around here. Considering his current boss, Mark knew he had finally signed on with the right person who had the right skills to stay in the competition and come out on top. Lyle was too corrupt for his tastes, as the ongoing conversation with the Tower assistant was proving. It took someone with a strong stomach, stretchable morals and a low life expectancy to work for Raines, and the others were too weak and ineffectual to be of any interest. There were those amongst the sweepers who liked the person they worked for but ultimately understood where their paychecks came from--they were company men. Then there were those who because of the intrigues, didn't give a damn about the paychecks as much as they cared who they were working for, Mark fell in to this category. He understood his priorities as he continued to listen with interest to Lyle's plans, determined that his current boss would never fall into any traps laid out for her by her twin--that is if he had anything to say about it.


	3. Paths cross

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Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the disclaimer.

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Joint Venture 

Chapter III

By Callisto

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Quigley Arms Apartments

Fort Collins, CO 

The joint task force had swarmed the tiny apartment after learning that the serial killer/bio-terrorist had used this as a base of operations for the past month. Jarod glanced around after most of the search had been finished. There was precious little to pick through and the team did a thorough job within an hour. Instantly knowing that this wasn't the killer's real lair but a dummy apartment set up to throw authorities off the trail, Jarod walked outside for some fresh air. The afternoon was quickly turning to dusk as he breathed deeply, drawing as much air into his lungs as possible and slowly releasing it. He walked further away from the established crime scene, deliberately clearing his mind and focusing his pretender skills on the problem at hand. With a conscious effort, Jarod closed his eyes and slipped under the mental skin of the killer, trying to figure out what was wrong with the location. Slowly, Jarod opened his eyes and looked around. His eyes wandered until settling on the upstairs windows of the building across the street. The killer preferred being up high so he could look down on those below. Curiosity sparked in his mind as he walked towards the decrepit, abandoned building. 

Once inside, he looked carefully around making sure nothing escaped his notice. The downstairs hallway was extremely filthy and the walls were enthusiastically marred with profane graffiti. Gingerly climbing the rickety stairs, Jarod immediately found himself in a trash strewn hallway with numerous doors on either side. A curiously pleasant scent was mixed in amongst the more offensive odors. Following his nose, he walked slowly through the hall glancing at the closed office doors when he suddenly stopped. This door was as filthy as the rest with a suspicious goo smeared on its surface, the cleanliness of the doorway was the one clue that told him this was the right place. Slipping on some thin gloves, he tried the door knob. It turned easily and noiselessly in his hand. Jarod entered cautiously and pulled the door almost shut behind him. Still following his instincts, he searched the sterile interior of an office converted into living quarters. Once he was finished, he then opened another interior door and walked noiselessly into a makeshift professional lab situated in the middle of a large empty space. Finally the source of the scent he smelled upon entering the second floor came into view. Huddled over a puddle on the bare cement floor and collecting a sample was a person bundled warmly in a dark coat. Jarod looked at what the person was doing then said in a loud voice, "I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take until the Centre decided to send someone out to snoop around. I just never conceived that it would be you."

The dark, huddled figure stopped for a brief moment and without looking around completed the job of obtaining a sample of spilled chemicals, slipped the vial into another container and then into a deep inside coat pocket. Slowly the figure rose and turned to face Jarod. The weak light from several grungy, dirt encrusted windows created a flattering halo on her smooth, thick hair. Her figure was obscured by her overcoat, the cost of which would probably equal the monthly payroll of at least half the task force. Oddly she was wearing sunglasses which served to hide her eyes---her most striking feature. Jarod stared at his long time nemesis for several moments, taking note that the 9mm trained on his face had a slim finger on the trigger. He showed his surprise when the weapon was slowly lowered, then holstered.

"How did you know?" she asked quietly, wondering how Jarod made the connection between the poisoner and the Centre.

"I didn't when I first read about the attacks in the newspaper. After I hacked into the forensic examiner's computer files and found out the weapon was a compound that was purposely manufactured using some unusual components---most of which are practically impossible to obtain in this country. At first the symptoms are painful but not particularly lethal. The next attack turned out to be lethal. It was obvious that the bio-terrorist was conducting experiments and trying to perfect his little potion. There could be only one use for this unusual compound and that alone meant the Centre." 

She listened with uncharacteristic patience to his explanation and watched as he approached. Jarod was looking good since the last time she saw him. He trimmed down a bit and seemed even more fit that he had before. His hair was as short as he wore it after his initial escape from the Centre, giving him a boyish appearance. She preferred him this way but kept her opinions to herself. He walked up to her and stopped just a few feet away.

"Long time, no see. You look good. Why are you here? Still doing their dirty work---Raines' bidding?" he asked with disappointed concern. 

Parker had already had a dose of this criticism from Sydney and wasn't interested in hearing Jarod's version. She responded with a heat he had grown used to over the years. "What I'm doing and who I'm doing it for is none of your business. You're the one who decided to walk in on me, not the other way around. Keep you opinions to yourself before I change my mind and call in your little charade."

A smirk appeared irritatingly on Jarod's face. From the tone of her voice, he could tell she was annoyed and enjoyed it for a few minutes. He knew she understood only part of his motives for taking digs at her. He liked getting under her skin---reveled in it. It was the quickest way to discover if she still retained that part of her personality he had access to, so their usual contentious banter was important to his personal assessment of her. Their time together on the island suggested that there just might be some room to expand on a certain weakness of hers that interested him. 

"If you're here looking for a bio-terrorist, then that means Mr. Lyle must have been assigned to my capture. I'm curious, how does he propose to bring me in?" Jarod paused as he slowly circled Miss Parker. It was as he was about to complete his circle that his eyes lit on a dark mountain of a man standing in a nearby corner. He had the air of sweeper and was dressed in typical fashion with a dark suit. His imposing attitude gave away his chosen profession as well as the calm steadiness with which he trained his 9mm on Jarod. "I see you've brought some company. It's about time you got someone to watch your back. By the way, where's Sam?" 

"Where I need him and I can take care of myself," she replied with weary heat. The conversation was suddenly beginning to bore her. Running into Jarod here of all places, surprised her but she was no longer in the mood to banter with him. It had been almost two years since she had last seen him but so much had changed since then. Her circumstances were greatly different than they were when her father had been alive.

"Why are you here, Miss Parker? What is it you're looking for?"

"I'm on a bug hunt. There's a human insect wandering around who has a sanction placed on him by the Centre. I complete delivery then I can dictate a few terms for myself. Stay out of my way, Jarod." With that, Parker moved to the entrance, her bodyguard following her at a distance, his 9mm still trained on Jarod. 

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other soon," Jarod called out to her. She stopped and turned slightly to look at him. "You see, we're both searching for the same thing though for different reasons. Perhaps we can pool our efforts once you realize your 'bug' is a bit more industrious than the usual Centre henchman." 

Parker stood still for several seconds taking Jarod's measure. Then with a disinterested shrug, she exited the room for good. Jarod stared at the spot where she had been standing, wondering what twists were going on and how they would shape up in the end. 

**__**

Task Force Headquarters

Denver, CO

Several days later the bio-terrorist struck again. This time several children were hospitalized in critical condition with signs that at least one or two wouldn't make it through the night. The method of introduction was a coated touch pad of a game counsel at a local computer game store that drew kids like bears to honey. Every time a child tried the newly released game, they smudged the poison onto their fingers and occasionally on to the hands and arms of their friends. 

The Task Force along with the community at large was appalled by the terrorist's intended target. Pressure was brought to bear on them and their FBI counterparts by City and State officials and now there were a few Senators making pre-election crime control noises. Regrettably, the leads law enforcement had went from slim to non-existent. The video cameras in the store were trained mainly on the door and cash register areas leaving the game consol in particular on the outer edge of the camera's view. No clear picture could be obtained of any of the consol players until they left the store. The tape was old, used often and provided pictures of a very poor quality. None of the powers that be had any patience for excuses, no matter how reasonable. All they wanted were results and demanded them at every turn, along with career-ending threats if failure continued. 

Jarod stood back from the fray and watched the political maneuvering and infighting with disgusted cynicism. He returned with Teddy to the crime scene to take another look and possibly find a new or different perspective of what occurred. Teddy accompanied him in an effort to find further evidence that might have been previously overlooked. As the feeling of running into another dead-end began to settle on Jarod, he was about to walk outside of the store when he spotted a familiar visage. He frowned at the sight of the huge sweeper when he made a sudden decision. He jotted a few lines in his tiny notebook and ripped out the page. With purposeful strides he approached the man he encountered in the abandoned building with Parker. The inscrutable sweeper noticed Jarod and paused to wait for the Pretender.

"Since you're here, I take it your boss is in town. Give her this and tell her that I need to speak with her as soon as possible. We have the same interest in this case and perhaps we can help each other." Jarod handed the mute sweeper the note, then nodding at the man, he turned to leave, walking slowly towards his city vehicle sitting in the packed parking lot. Watching the curious exchange from inside the store, Teddy took a long look at the man Jarod briefly spoke to and the closed expression on his face as he watched Jarod walk away. 

Jarod had returned and driven only a block and a half before noticing the background sound of Teddy's enthusiastic dissertation on subconscious suggestions was blatantly missing. "Is there something bothering you?" 

"No, nothing," Teddy replied in a rush. He was preoccupied by what he had witnessed and trying to figure out what was going on with Jarod. 

Realizing his behavior and the suspicious nature of his meeting with Parker's bodyguard had the sensitive IT expert concerned, he decided to distract Teddy. Jarod knew exactly how to draw Teddy out and to push from his mind any doubts or concerns he was starting to harbor. "You were telling me about the author's belief that suggestions made to a person who is either asleep or on the brink of sleep has the best chance of being accepted by the host." The light in Teddy's face brightened considerably when he realized he hadn't been speaking to himself and his brainy friend had been listening. Jarod continued, "I have a little experience with hypnotism and I've found self-hypnosis is the best method for overcoming certain mild addictions and to bring forward long buried memories." 

"So you do agree with the author that the human mind records every second of a person's day? He says no one ever forgets anything they have seen, done or experienced and…." 

Teddy continued expressing his enthusiasm for the lessons and opinions of the author. All his prior misgivings had been erased from his face and temporarily set aside as he espoused his own thoughts on the subject. Jarod listened for several more seconds, then allowed a tiny smile to form on his lips. He had accomplished what he had set out to do. 


	4. Paths meet resolve strengthened

**__**

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual disclaimer. 

**__**

Author's note: The places in this story exist, just not where I put them. All geographical inaccuracies are there to facilitate my imagination and this story.To clear up any budding confusion, the lovably lazy sweeper mentioned in Chapter II is **not** the sweeper who is serving as Parker's personal bodyguard. That character is formally introduced in this chapter. 

****

Joint Venture

Chapter IV

By Callisto

**__**

The Centre

Blue Cove, DE 

Raines listened impassively to Parker's preliminary report on the hunt for their murderously wayward researcher. She was reporting from the last location her inside sources had given her. Raines was encouraged that she was hot on the trial of the former Centre employee and that she had already collected samples which would tell them how far the demented scientist had gotten in his research. According to Parker's investigation, Hemmings was attempting to finish what the Tower had tried to cancel. Completely aware of her moral objections, Raines just barely refrained from ordering her to terminally sanction Hemmings. He relaxed his oxygen starved body in the custom-made desk chair. Having Parker return the insubordinate employee to the fold where he could be debriefed and disposed of properly, all away from the public eye, would work out much better and accomplish his goal with more satisfactory results. Raines continued to hang onto the possibilities that Hemmings' research, with a sickening interest and the potential profit the revised compound presented made his mouth water. There remained a slim chance to lure the original buyers back and being able to give them real-word results should please them immensely. 

Parker's next call went directly to Sydney's cell phone. She avoided directly mentioning Jarod by name. However with some clever half references and coded language, she let him know that Jarod was also involved in the hunt for the Centre murderer and to keep Lyle out of her way. Sydney assured her of his assistance and after briefly continuing the chat, they ended the call. The psychiatrist hung up and released a deep sigh of relief, glad that Parker was no longer a part of the Jarod hunt and that her interest in returning him had waned along with her sense of family amongst those still living who claimed a blood-line alliance. He was worried about Parker and her currently entrenched ennui about the direction her life was headed. There was little that he would be able to do to help her, however keeping Lyle off the scent was almost too easy.

**__**

Gruentella Pass 

Overlooking Denver, CO 

The setting sun lit a fire show of light and color to the valley below. The view of the distant city was spectacular. Jarod, instead of taking in the view walked up cautiously and stopped several feet behind the person he came to meet. He stared her for some time watching the expressions play across her features, taking note of how she held herself, her posture and demeanor. What he saw was a curious mixed bag of contained stress and quiet unintentional beauty. With one last sharp glance, Jarod walked easily up to her and joined her sitting on the front end of her rental car. 

"You're late," she said with languid irritation.

"Actually I arrived a little early. Your bodyguard doesn't seem to like me. I'm surprised you thought he would be necessary. Did you expect me to be on anything less than my usual perfect behavior?" he asked with a smile in his voice. 

"He's there because he wants to be and before you ask, no, I didn't put him there, it was his idea," she answered after briefly looking at her companion. 

Never far from the forefront of his mind, Jarod's curiosity asserted itself again. Glancing at her calm exterior and patient attitude, he decided to ask her a question, much like he would have done when they were children. "How did you choose a bodyguard? I would've guessed that of anyone, you would've picked Sam." 

Mentally shrugging, Parker decided to answer Jarod, knowing that sometime during this meeting he would eventually get to the point. "I didn't pick him, not like that. He was one of the sweepers assigned to guard the scrolls and was on duty when the Triumvirate's goons staged their raid to steal what was never there. After we returned from Africa, Lyle was given the task to find out what went wrong. Moriyama was the only one still breathing and after a period of healing, Lyle decided to systematically tear him apart. I came in around the end of it…" 

**__**

The Centre - 8 months ago

Blue Cove, DE

Dr. Horace Galvan chatted amiably as he searched for the research pages she had called down for over an hour ago. Tales of his newest healing serum and infection inhibitor were expanded upon in brain-numbing detail. Her patience quickly running thin, she stared at the oblivious man balefully and was on the verge of leaving and sending Broots back to waste his time waiting on the absent-minded professor, when the sounds of a man screaming pierced through Dr. Galvan's monologue. The doctor looked up disconcertedly, then quickly ducked back and continued to rummage through a deep drawer where he swore he stashed his reports. The sounds of men shouting and the unmistakenly aggravated voice of Parker's twin echoed through the empty hallways. Finally the doctor found what he had been looking for, straightening up he was shocked into silence in finding the room empty--the only sign of his visitor was the lingering scent of her perfume. 

The sight of three muscle bound sweepers she had never seen before accompanying her demented brother, who was rubbing his reddened knuckles while Willie placed a pair of bloodied pliers in a plastic bag caused Parker to shrink back into the shadows of the alcove adjacent to the Renewal Wing's infirmary. Once the group had passed, she stared in their wake inquiringly wondering who they were torturing. Cautiously she retraced their steps, then started trying the doors on either side of the corridor. It was at the fifth door she was about to bypass when she spotted a slight smear of blood on the knob. Trying the door, she found it was locked. Dr. Galvan was surprised again by Parker's sudden reappearance. Barely understanding what she was demanding, the impatient woman brushed past him and taking some of his smaller instruments, she had left before he could voice any objection. 

It took Parker 30 seconds to get past the locked door. Inside, the room was bathed in darkness, the light from the hallway unable to adequately reveal anything. Feeling the walls on either side of the door, she finally located a light switch and flicked it on. The room was lit by a single bare bulb. Attached to a hook suspended from a chain anchored to the ceiling, was a bulky, beaten man. Blood poured from his mouth and drenched the front of his shirt. He had the kicked-in appearance of anyone who has spent too much time on the wrong end of Lyle's entertainment. Looking around, Parker approached the man and stared at him. No internal voices spoke to her except her own conscious. Only a moment's hesitation delayed her, as she calmly exited the room and returned with a wheelchair. She unhooked the man's handcuffed wrists from the suspended hook, then guided his heavy body to the waiting wheelchair. The beaten sweeper tried to open is swollen eyes but was unable to move much.

The surprised doctor looked up in resignation when Parker returned for the third time, now wheeling a battered sweeper. She crisply ordered him to take care of Lyle's latest victim. The doctor looked at the man slumped over in the wheelchair with distant interest. At Parker's sardonic suggestion that he use his newest concoction on the sweeper, Dr. Galvan immediately perked up and nodded sagely at the woman. He reminded her who was in charge of the battered man's case. Parker smirked cynically, telling the doctor she would handle her twin personally. 

Several months later Parker was confronted by a grateful sweeper. The circumstances encouraged her to negotiate a reassignment and a new deal between herself and Raines which included the sweeper being placed under her protection. Parker intended on having him assigned to Sam for further training when unexpectedly the fellow presented himself in her office a few days later. He was of Japanese/Samoan descent and scrupulously inscrutable . He approached her as she sat at her desk and then bowed deeply. In a barely audible voice he stated his allegiance and vowed that no harm should ever come to her while he lived. Despite any attempts to reason with him, order him or threaten him, the man refused to leave her side. His file suggested prior Yakuza ties but he turned out to be the oddest bodyguard. He startled her by being on her doorstep early in the morning -- clearly waiting for her to appear and following her in a Town Car when she left at night. At first his presence was thoroughly annoying. It took Parker some time, Sydney's hearty support of Moriyama's behavior and Lyle's less than happy attitude to stop her resistance. A thorough self-starter, Moriyama went with her practically everywhere, his efficiency, intelligence and persistence caused him to become her personal assistant.

**__**

Gruentella Pass - Present

Overlooking Denver, CO 

Jarod listened to her with interest, knowing at which points she downplayed her role or left out a detail she felt he didn't need to know. He had always enjoyed the way she would tell a story when they were kids. For the first time in years he felt at ease in her presence. They were alone together without any psychopathic murderers, greedy bank robbers or a blanket of grief hanging between them. He relished the feeling for several more seconds before interrupting the mood. 

"Children were the last target. This guy is a monster that needs to be stopped as quickly as possible. If we pool our efforts than we can catch him before he kills anyone else. Does the Centre know why he's trying his best to perfect his kill? Did they send him out to do this as a sim? What I want to know from you is why the killer is targeting children?" 

"One question at a time, Genius. Hemmings is a researcher who got homicidally upset when his pet project was terminated by the Tower. Seems his research was going no where while his home got some badly needed repairs. He took the news poorly and got so angry that he forgot who was funding his little horror project and gave the powers that be a piece of his mind--the only part that was halfway sane it turned out. The idiot bit the hand that was feeding him and lost everything he owned. In retaliation, he ran taking his lethal formulas with him. From what I can tell, he's trying to prove that the stuff he devised really works. Apparently there were a few, shall we say unresolved issues with the project that caused the Tower to lose patience and the deep pockets client to go elsewhere for their filthy product."

"He's been trying to stabilize the compound and compensate for the decrease in toxicity that his conversion process causes. Guessing from his targets, I can only assume that the weapon's potency is the main problem and its effects on a cross section of society is causing him problems." 

A deep sigh escaped her lips as Parker responded. "Yes, apparently the formula doesn't work too well on children of a certain age. Something about their immune systems being too adaptive." 

Silence enveloped them as Jarod quietly considered her last statement. Then without preamble he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a thick white envelope. He held the package aloft so the unseen bodyguard could get a look at it, instead of shooting him first and asking questions later. Parker watched Jarod with faint amusement, making note that Moriyama seemed to be the first person from the Centre Jarod actually treated with some respect. The Pretender placed the envelope in her hand. 

"This is residue that was left on the machine the task force confiscated on the day of the incident. Have your people analyze it. It should tell us where he is in his research. From what I can tell, it appears he's still trying to weaponize the toxin, this is going to be a race to the finish."

"Weapon? What are you talking about? Hemmings is a researcher who went over the edge into a La La land of serial murder and fantasy," Parker countered despite the uncomfortable twinges from her sensitive stomach which twitched in response to his comment. 

Jarod turned his gaze from the genuinely stunned look that suffused Parker's features and stared out at the brilliant show below. "I see they're still hiding things from you. My analysis of the compound revealed it's a rare toxin that has been restructured into a substance that can be weaponized. If Hemmings is allowed to finish what he's started, it will mean the deaths of several million people, if not more. I've done some preliminary research and an anti-toxin has never been developed." 

She silently stared at envelope in her hand and tucked it securely inside one of her coat pockets. Parker shivered slightly to cover up the cold-fusion of anger building inside. Raines had lied, that she expected as much as she would expect the sun to rise the next day but the depth of the lie and the danger it implied was galling. Abruptly she turned and got inside of the rented Town Car. Jarod followed her and got in on the passenger side. They remained silent for several more seconds as they warmed up. Before either said a word, Jarod retrieved a small device used to scramble any listening device. Parker looked at the small gadget then leaned over, opened the glove compartment and placed a device of her own next to Jarod's on the dashboard. 

"I only trust my own toys. I take it there is something else you think I can do for you?" she asked with heavy sarcasm. Being Jarod's information lackey was extremely trying on her nerves. 

"Why are you still there?" he asked simply, confident she would understand the depth of his question. 

"I'm _there_, as you put it because that's where I belong. Seems I was born into this role but then this is a conversation we've already had." 

"You were no more born into this role Raines has shoved you into, than I was born to serve them." 

Parker stared though the windshield at the sprawling city below. Though her view was partially obstructed by the railing and angle, the view was still magnificent. In a quietly calm voice she answered, "I'm not sure what it is you want from me, Jarod. If you think this little vassal would rise up in indignation against her masters than I'm sorry to say that you'll be greatly disappointed. It's too late for me. When I give myself the chance to think about it, I believe my last chance at taking advantage of any turning point died from a single gunshot to the head. My mother's killer is still alive and has claimed many more lives since her death. My family is a complete sham and I have absolutely nothing to turn to or believe in. You would do better to leave me alone and spend your time trying to rescue someone more receptive." 

Jarod stared at her as she spoke her mind. The loneliness of the past several months pressed down hard on him. He had left his family after hearing of this spate of senseless killings, immediately suspecting the Centre of complicity. He had just started another relationship before coming to Colorado but if history was to be believed, this lover would eventually fade away as well---his fear of the Centre using her against him would ruin anything he could build up. Remembering what had almost happened between them, Jarod decided to finish what had tentatively started. Leaning over he gently reached out to touch her chin. Parker flinched and turning her head to look at him inquiringly, she suddenly found herself engaged in a kiss. The caress was as gentle, soft and warm as his own lips. Forgetting herself, Parker withdrew her lips and kissed his open mouth several times. Jarod surprised by her reaction, responded in kind and finally enclosed her mouth with his, savoring the taste of her. When they finished, Parker stared at Jarod's mouth, then leaned back into her own seat. Jarod leaned back as well but kept his eyes on her.

"It's never too late Parker. Have faith in yourself, you're worth it, believe me." 

Parker looked over at Jarod with mild surprise. Seeing her expression he smirked, shrugged, then exited the car. Leaning over into the open door, he said, "Keep me in the loop. Let me know the results the Centre's lab techs come up with that residue." 

"I have no idea how long it will take them to analyze this. He's already struck again, you do realize that? Tonight was his deadline and somewhere down there is another set of victims. The most we can do is minimize the damage." 

"Yes, I know," Jarod said suddenly sobering. "I'll be looking for you at the next crime scene." With that, he slammed the door shut and walked off into the darkness. A few seconds later, he heard the powerful engine of the rental car roar to life. 

In the shadows nearby, Moriyama slowly lowered his high-powered sniper's rifle. Jarod was correct in his caution when taking out the small white envelope from his pocket. Moriyama had watched the conversation his boss had with the Centre's refugee genius. It was with little shock that he witnessed Miss Parker kiss the man hungrily. Nodding quietly to himself, he recalled that he had discovered how lonely her life was once he started guarding her and was most likely before. Moriyama decided that he would watch Jarod carefully to discover his true intentions.

**__**

Acknowledgement: I wish to extend a special 'thank you' to a reviewer who inspired the direction of this chapter and indeed the remainder of this story before the first chapter was even posted!


	5. Another attack and evesdropping

**__**

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statement.

****

Author's note: I'm no medical expert. There are substances which are capable of achieving the effects discussed here.. However, medical observations made in this chapter spring mainly from my imagination and to facilitate this story. 

****

Joint Venture

Chapter V

By Callisto

****

Sorority Row 

Colorado Springs, CO

Three days after their meeting, the terrorist struck again. This time his target was a sorority house. Eighty percent of the students in the house were afflicted by a mysterious ailment which had disturbingly similar symptoms to the poison used in the other incidents. Parker and her team responded to the first reports but the swarm of state, local and federal police on the scene made her pull back and reconsider her options. She ordered her people back into the van to await orders, then struck out on her own to canvass the outer perimeter. Her dark overcoat hid the fashionable clothing she was wearing underneath and the dark shades further enhanced her mysterious air. She stared at the Chi Omega house over a block away and the buzz of activity that swirled around it. Getting to the house at this point was useless, any data or trace evidence that existed now was either being destroyed by clumsy, uneducated hands or collected for analysis furthering the chance of Centre exposure. 

A short huff of frustration escaped her carefully made-up lips. There was nothing she could do about that situation, so she quickly refocused her concentration. A thought stuck her and she began to look upwards. Her actions began to attract some unwanted attention, causing her to step away from the crowd and continue glancing around. Looking to her left and behind the sorority house, she spotted what she was looking for and immediately ordered her team to converge on the new target.

Jarod was in the middle of the forensic furor that surrounded the mass poisoning. He oversaw the gathering of evidence and directed the CSI teams to specific points of interest to the investigators. He took care in performing his duties but they hardly required his full attention. Glancing around, he noticed a few investigators had branched off on their own, looking at the small puddles of defecation that were scattered through out the house as the college students one by one were overcome by sickness. The toxin simultaneously shuts down the major organs until it finally reaches the heart or liver. In cases where the liver was attacked first, the victims suffered traumatically, resulting in exsanguination from each orifice causing a gory mess. The instability of the compound caused it to react slightly differently in each subject depending on overall health and stamina. An idea that had been niggling at him suddenly came into sharp focus as he thought about the mind that was responsible for this horror. This thought captured his imagination and he devoted all his attention to it. Within minutes, he handed over control of the forensic teams to Teddy and ventured outside. Looking up, he scanned the skyline until he found what he was looking for----a vantage point from which the murderer/serial poisoner could watch through the uncurtained lower floor windows of the sorority house as his victims writhed in agony until unconsciousness or death slowly overcame them. The Unsub would've derived a sense of accomplishment and achievement from the terror and suffering he had caused. 

With a determined sense of curiosity and purpose, Jarod left the crime scene and walked two blocks to the high-rise warehouse that overlooked the sorority house. The upper floors of the building offered a bird's eye-view of the young college students' Victorian home. As he was leaving, Jarod was unaware that one of his colleagues had noticed his strange behavior and became suspicious when Jarod left the house. At a discrete distance, he followed the Pretender to see what was going on and what possible lead he was following that the other could claim as his own. 

Two blocks and several stories later, Jarod entered the floor he felt the Unsub used as his base of operations. He had climbed the stairs noiselessly as a precaution. He was reasonably certain the Unsub was no longer occupying this location but there was still a small possibility that existed. Jarod was holding his 9mm at his side as he walked cautiously towards the end of the building that faced the sorority house. Turning the corner, he warily peeked around and found something he hadn't expected----three clean-room suited Centre cleaners were carefully shifting through what appeared to be the Unsub's abandoned quarters. Their attention to detail and careful movements were on a professional level that would cause the crack team he had left behind at the sorority house to blush at their own lack of sophistication. Scanning the expanse of the warehouse floor his eyes finally lit on the one figure that meant something to him. She was leaning over one of her cleaners answering a question. Stepping into the open, Jarod with slow careful movements holstered his weapon and approached Parker. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her ever present bodyguard watching him with interest, his sidearm already out but pointing towards the ground. 

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he said quietly. He saw her body tense at the sound of his voice. Then slowly she turned to face him. Instead of answering, she signaled to her bodyguard to clear the room. With a few words spoken loudly in Japanese, the cleaner team quickly left without disturbing their work. The room next door was also a subject of interest. 

Parker looked at Jarod with mild amusement. He too was dressed in dark clothing. He wore a black leather coat, black turtleneck, black jeans and black boots. His slim, muscular physique, short hair, dark ray-ban sunglasses and half smirk made him look at least 15 years younger than she suspected him to be.

"It seems for once that I've beaten you to the prize, Genius. What took you so long? I was beginning to think you were losing your touch," she taunted with a smirk of her own. 

Ignoring her dig, he widened his smirk into a smile of appreciation and replied, "If I had your resources, we would be closer to the murderer by now. How about sharing? Were your people able to find anything out with the sample I gave you?" 

"Hemmings is in Phase 3 of his experiments. Two phases behind where he was supposed to be when he met with the development branch of the Tower. He's got to be stopped before he can get to phase 5. That phase involves the agent being tested in a simulated environment. We both know Hemmings doesn't believe in simulations." 

"What exactly made Raines think he could control something like this? The chance of something going wrong and the toxin either falling in the wrong hands or unsuspecting innocents being contaminated was too high. Why are you supporting him?" Jarod asked again. 

"He thinks my curiosity about all the secrets and lies will be never ending. Raines has threatened to kill anyone close to me--to finish the job my father had started," she answered blandly. 

"Why?" Jarod asked in a harsh whisper. 

"When Da--my father planned his take over of the Centre, he had spies planted in strategic positions to watch and identify all of Raines' supporters. While we were chasing our tails on Carthis, his loyalists were busy eliminating Raines' people in preparation of his ultimate takeover. Call it 'corporate cleansing' and he was determined to make sure there wasn't anyone to oppose him or anyone around who could blame him since most of the terminations were being conducted while he was drooling in his so-called stupor. We all brought the act, he should've gotten an Academy award," she answered, while looking around at the remnants of the cleaner's examinations. "When we returned Raines tried to reassemble his team only to find out they were all dead and he was surrounded by hostile employees. There wasn't anything he could say or do to get Lyle to help him without facing a price tag he wasn't ready or willing to pay. So he decided on a slightly different tactic and like his brother focused his manipulations on me." She heaved a deep sigh and continued to scan the area to insure nothing was overlooked. 

Jarod looked at her sadly, finally understanding the inducements imposed on her to cooperate. An intense feeling of empathy ran through him and he took another step towards her. When she turned he was there and looking into her eyes. With deliberation, he leaned towards her and kissed her passively yielding lips tenderly. He kept kissing her, enjoying the moment when another voice interrupted him. 

"What the hell is going on here? Douglas, is that a _woman _you're kissing? Now I know I've seen everything." 

Parker pulled away from Jarod and stared at him inquiringly. The man's tone was both arrogant and envious. Jarod, who had removed his sunglasses during Parker's explanation of the Centre's intrigues, glanced over her shoulder to find the Task Force's resident Lothario, Conner Elliot staring at him from across the room.

"Nothing that concerns you, Conner. Why did you follow me? You're supposed to be at the crime scene," Jarod answered with calm anger. 

"I thought you were up to something, so I decided to follow you to see what was going on," Elliot responded as he walked towards the couple. "Who's the chick? Some gender confused loser you're trying to take advantage of?" he asked not having gotten a good look at Parker. 

"None of your business. Why don't you get out of here and I'll join you in a minute," he responded, knowing the attempt to distract his colleague would fail.

"Well, I'm making it my business, Douglas. Besides, I'm curious to see who in their right mind would bother with a freak like you," Elliot taunted with barely suppressed anger. 

Parker had yet to turn around to look at the intruder; instead she studied Jarod who was becoming angrier by his colleague's jealousy. He knew Elliot, out of some juvenile jealousy, was the one spreading the rumors that he was homosexual. Affected by the bemused and irritated expression on Parker's face, Jarod was becoming angrier by the minute. 

Elliot had finally reached them and walking around he leaned to the side slightly to get a look at Parker, whom he assumed was homely. His reaction would have been amusing if Jarod wasn't already annoyed. "Whoa, you're gorgeous, Gorgeous. What the heck are you doing with a loser like him?" Elliot asked with genuine interest. A switch flicked to life in Elliot's one-track mind, the same one that seemed to activate whenever there was an attractive groupie within a 2 mile range. "Why not trade up, Honey?" he asked, placing his hand on her arm. 

With fluid speed, Parker had pushed Elliot up against a stone pillar; one hand was pressed against his throat, the other contained her 9mm which was resting tightly against his solar plexus. "Never, _ever _touch me. Being that you're such a good friend of Jarod's, I'll spare myself the dry cleaning bill your snake-oil blood would require to remove your stink off my clothes," Parker said in a menacing whisper. 

Confusion swam in his eyes as Elliot tried vainly to shrink further away from the comely woman who was so effectively threatening him. In another not brilliant move Elliot croaked from his constricted throat, "_He _touched you." 

"As the man said, it's none of your business. Now be a good civil servant and go back to your little pals outside and act like the little dog who just discovered he could lick his own ass." With that she released him and with surprising strength grabbed his lapel and propelled him towards the door. 

Choking, Elliot was holding his throat and turned back to look at the stunning woman, just in time to see her give a hand signal to a human mountain that responded quickly by ushering him unceremoniously out of the door. Jarod and Parker listened to the sounds of Elliot stumbling down the stairs ahead of Moriyama. When silence finally enveloped the room, neither occupant was eager to disturb the sudden calm.

"I need you to do me a favor, actually a couple of favors," Jarod began after choosing his words carefully. 

Parker turned mutely towards Jarod, she had used the few moments of quiet to collect her thoughts and to bring her temper back under her usual steely control. Unbeknownst to Jarod, she was close to seriously hurting the pedantic jerk who treated her like a simpering, brainless slut happy to gain any man's attention. 

"First, I would like to know what your people come up with. We can work together and share information in order to bring this guy down." Handing her some neatly folded sheets, Jarod said "As for my part, I drew up this list of the type of equipment and locations the murderer would need in order to weaponize the toxin. The list is based on my profile of him. The quicker we find him, the better for both of us and in exchange I'll also get you a copy of the report from the sorority house." 

Parker listened and considered without committing. Her temper finally put in its safe place; she wandered around the open area, still careful to avoid the places her team was in the mist of processing. Stopping next to one of the stone pillars she asked quietly, "What's the second thing you want from me?" 

Jarod paused for a few beats before answering, "I need you to touch the lenses of my glasses. Elliot has a big mouth and I'm fairly sure by the time he reaches the ground floor you would have turned into a dozen burly men intent on killing him. I need this so Broots can create a file for you." Jarod explained what he needed and the reasons behind his request. 

"Alright, I need to bring my team back in here to finish up and get out before your pal Elliot returns," Parker said turning to Jarod with her hands on her hips. The dark blue overcoat she wore was opened, revealing a tight pair of black leather pants, short matching boots with 2" heels and a deep blue cashmere turtleneck sweater. Her thick hair was draped over her shoulders and her brilliantly pale complexion was in stark contrast to her clothing. To Jarod, she looked simply lovely. Looking away for a few seconds, he decided to try once again.

"There is one other thing I want to ask," he started uncertainly. Unconsciously extending his nervous anxiety, Parker stared at him, tilting her head gently to one side, she was wondering what was eating at Resident Genius. "Would you have dinner with me? Not tonight but perhaps this weekend. The Unsub seems to take the weekends off and I need some time away from the task force as you can see. His profile doesn't indicate the Unsub will strike soon again, anyway," he said as he slowly ran down. He had the feeling he was rambling and was baldly showing his anxiousness. A sinking feeling grew inside of him as he began to feel like an idiot. The other women he had asked out to dinner and who eventually became his lovers never drew this reaction out of him or would've taken matters into their own hands by now.

A puzzled look formed on Parker's face. Not since her boarding school days had she ever been asked out in such an artless fashion. Even Tommy had a smoother delivery than Smarty-pants here. "Are you asking me out on a _date_?" 

Jarod rolled his eyes in helplessness, then turned his eyes back to her and raised his eyebrows without responding.

"Dinner at your place, not out in public. If I meet that moron co-worker of yours again, I swear I'll hurt him." 

Jarod's smile almost blinded her in its brilliance. There was only one other time when he grinned at her like that, they were children and it was just before she gave him his first kiss. Shaking her head slowly, Parker said, "Get out of here, Jarod. I've got work to do."

Jarod approached her, held out his sunglasses and watched silently while she rolled her thumb print along the side of the lens. She handed them back without looking at him and listened attentively as he left the building. 


	6. Little ingenius devices and thumb prints

****

Disclaimer: For the legal stuff please checkout the usual statements and protective rhetoric in Chapter 1.

Author's note: Hope you like it! 

****

Joint Venture

Chapter VI

By Callisto

****

The Centre

Blue Cove, DE

Broots had just finished completing the assignment given to him by his former boss when his current boss, Mr. Lyle intruded on his blissful solitude with the ever-distasteful Chairman, Mr. Raines trailing squeakily behind him. Broots quickly cleared from the computer screen his latest task at hacking into the Federal government's employment records and returned it to his usual stand-by screen showing the scrolling results of his latest scanning program. Today he was searching the databases of several national newspapers looking for pictures or any mention of any avenging Samaritan. By the time Lyle reached Broots' workstation, everything was as it should be.

"Broots, we have a small, out-of the-usual task for you today. We need you to find out what is being said on this audio file," Lyle stated with a pleasant smile that made Broots' stomach churn. He knew that whatever Lyle wanted would be something unsavory.

Uh-h, of course. I mean, I'll see what I can do. What do you have?" he asked apprehensively while blinking nervously.

Lyle handed over a compact disc and taking a step away, gave the computer tech a bit of breathing room, which indicated to Broots the importance of whatever was on the disc. Taking a deep breath, Broots inserted the disc and waited for his program to play the audio file. What came out of his speakers was an irritating squelching noise. Broots tried the different filtering programs he had personally loaded on his computer but to no avail. Intrigued, the computer expert looked directly into Lyle's eyes. All his previous nervousness had disappeared as he stated clearly, "This is interesting. According to my program this recording was made with anti-blocking, auto-filtering software that is being obscured by some type of interference."

"What exactly does that mean, Broots?" Raines asked slowly taking a deep breath before pronouncing the tech's name.

Raines' sepulchral voice reminded Broots eerily of the Bella Lugosi _Dracula _flick he and Debbie watched the other night. "Well, er, ummm, ahem" he replied trying to clear the lump of dread that suddenly lodged in his throat. "It means that we need to go to the electronics division--specifically audio research to gain access to the equipment that will, umm clear up the interference on the, er, disc." 

The room remained still and silent for a few seconds until Raines backed away from the nervous tech and stared broodingly at him. Broots took the hint and quickly got up. He had walked away from his computer before remembering the reason for the interesting, if not disturbing, interruption of his day--the disc. He uttered a short exclamation, then turned back to retrieve the disc from his computer drive.

Twenty minutes later, Broots, Lyle and Raines were gathered around Fritz, the audio tech researcher, who was on a par with Broots' computer skills but with anything audio. At first the distortion on the disc had him stumped, then leaning back with an admiring smile and shake of the head, Fritz emitted a deep sigh.

"Were you able to clean it up at all?" Broots asked with interest. 

"Yes and no. This surveillance recording was made using a pretty sophisticated, not-yet-on-the-market device. There were two counter-agents used to obscure the conversation that was being recorded. Due to the device, I was able to filter out most of one of them, it took some time but my equipment was able to do it. Tell me, does Miss Parker have anything to do with this?" the rail-thin tech asked abruptly. 

Broots was taken aback by the question but answered almost immediately, "No, why would she?" 

At this point, Lyle who was leaning against the wall next to the doorway inquired with quiet menace, "Why do you ask?" 

Broots looked from Lyle to Raines, then back at Fritz. In that split second he realized that Fritz was right and Miss Parker was somehow involved.

"Because she's the only one I know of who could think of a way to beat this state-of-the-art equipment." Fritz replied with a wide smile. The open menace in Lyle's voice and the unusual presence of the Centre's Chairman in his lab failed to alarm Fritz. The audio expert absently nibbled on what appeared to be a stale Pop-tart. His cloths enveloped his skeletal frame, while his limp, dull and overly long hair was bound neatly at the back of his head with a rubber band. Lyle stared balefully at the tech's wan complexion when his eyes met the sharp, inquisitive intelligence of the other's.

"How's that?" Broots asked. 

"She was the head of security for several years, plus in case you didn't know, she holds a couple academic degrees, one of them a master's degree from a certain Ivy League college in optical engineering. Now usually a degree in that field of engineering would mean working with top secret guidance devices developed primarily for government aerospace contracts but our Miss Parker went far beyond those parameters." At the surprised look on Broots' face, Fritz grinned happily as though glad to have surprised his brainy friend. "Yep. That knock-out babe is a certified Engineer; I bet you never knew, huh? She's always able to run circles around us mere mortals in Theoretical; you should see how nervous the guys in security get when she's around." 

"Really? I thought that was because she used to be their boss," Broots responded. 

"Hey, guys. I'm sure this conversation about my sister's intellectual prowess and her ability to intimidate her subordinates is fascinating but frankly the Miss Parker fan club will have to call an emergency meeting later. Right now, we're interested in hearing what was being said on that disc," Lyle said with impatient sarcasm. 

"No problem, Mr. Lyle. Especially since I've already given you the good news---I was able to filter out most of interference from a counter-surveillance device that was stationed close to the targeted speakers. The bad news is that there was a secondary device engaged that makes this disc useless. The reason I mentioned Miss Parker is that she was interested in developing something like it. The device that was used to defeat the high-tech eavesdropper employs a technology she was interested in implementing for our security division. She had been given a demonstration of the J-35 Eavesdropper several months ago and she was interested in countering it. The sound on this disc has been diffused and the signal reconfigured in such a way to make it practically impossible to untangle. There isn't any way or any machine made yet to reconstruct signal damage on this level. I would love to see what her device looks like." Fritz answered with renewed admiration. 

****

Task Force Headquarters

Denver, CO

Upon returning to headquarters several hours after meeting with Parker, Jarod found himself unceremoniously summoned into Lt. Randall's office. The mood at headquarters was tense and uncertain; he had been watched closely ever since he rejoined his colleagues at the main crime scene. Jarod had earned his place with them; however there were two or three enviously loud-mouthed detectives who felt threatened by Jarod's good looks and obvious intelligence, that attempted to take advantage of his reticent tendency of not talking about his personal business by inventing unflattering scenarios for him. One of the culprits was the deeply embarrassed Elliot whom Parker had no trouble subduing in short order. Jarod was certain her negative reaction to Elliot was the reason he was sitting in the Lieutenant's office. 

"Douglas, I've received some disturbing news about you and the security of our investigation," Lt. Randall started slowly, carefully watching for any stray expressions on Jarod's face that would indicate guilt or complicity. Unsatisfied, Randall continued on with his verbal reprimand. "To put this bluntly, you were seen at a possible crime scene in a compromising position with non-secured personnel. I don't have to tell you the seriousness of this charge and because you've contributed a great deal to our search efforts, I'm giving you this opportunity to explain yourself." The look on Randall's face told Jarod that he didn't believe there could be a reasonable explanation but he was hoping for one nonetheless.

Jarod was the picture of confident composure. He listened to what the Lieutenant said with interest but otherwise showed neither concern nor indignation. When it was finally his chance to speak, Jarod nodded thoughtfully, and then reached into his inside jacket pocket. From there, he pulled out a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and gingerly placed them on the Lieutenant's desk blotter.

"Before you make any decisions about my 'misconduct', please have Teddy run a check on the fingerprint located on the right lens. I asked her to hold them for me. On my way back, I noticed she left behind a print in the middle of the lens. After you run the print, then I'll be more than happy to discuss inter-departmental cooperation with you."

Randall had a puzzled look on his face as he stared at the glasses. Jarod rose and returned to his desk, eager to find out what further leads the forensics' teams had been able to cull. 

Over an hour later, Randall yelled at the top of his lungs for Jarod to come into his office. Jarod walked in, still reading the scant results of the preliminary reports handed to him. Looking up, he noticed Elliot was already there with the Lieutenant and casting Jarod a nasty grin.

"Next time you feel the need to involve another federal agency in our affairs, clear it with me first. I have my hands full as it is with the FBI breathing down my neck," Randall stated to Jarod with a mixture of anger and relief. Turning to Elliot he said, "Normally, I would have told you in private what I think of guys always looking for a chance to smear a fellow officer's name. Given some of the rumors flying around this office and some of the comments I've heard you spew to you buddies out there, Douglas deserves to hear what I have to say. The next time you come to me with a half-baked story about a serious breach of conduct, check your facts first or you'll not only be off my team but will never be part of another task force again.

"The prints on Jarod's sunglasses came back to a M. Parker, International Investigations Bureau--the covert arm of the NSA. For an agency that is already secretive to the point of paranoia, having a covert branch is serious business. How Teddy was able to pull her file is beyond me and a detail I won't dwell on. In case you're unaware of their existence, Elliot, consider this a heads up--don't screw with them. Most federal agents _suspect _the NSA has an inside track to international affairs. The federal intelligence branch knows they exist but doesn't know who or where these spooks are or where they're headquartered and while even fewer NSA executives know where they are, there are even fewer of them are able to get a handle on the Bureau's agenda and methods. The IIB manages to obtain intelligence no other agency is able to discover, along with the more difficult aspect of getting proof to back them up. Rumor has it that once the CIA's covert methods were exposed by the international terrorists and despots they were spying on, the NSA's IIB stepped in to take over the void. Not only does she have a security clearance that rivals the President's but she has juice in places and with people I've never conceived of." 

Elliot's face was a study of disbelieving shock. He sat silently in his chair at a complete loss for words. He was thankful that he had kept to himself the fact that the Parker woman had practically beaten him up and though he did tell the Lieutenant that he caught Jarod kissing her, Elliot doubted Randall would say anything to the others because it would raise too many questions. Feeling secure in the Lieutenant's indolent silence, Elliot was confident the rumor of Jarod's sexuality would go unchallenged and continue to irritate the profiler.

The following days were spent in a flurry of inactivity. Forensics was unable to get the team any closer to the Unsub, leads had dried up and everyone was out of rational suggestions. Frustrations were running high and after a few days of round the clock brainstorming, Jarod had decided that he needed to take a step away from the case in order to regain his perspective. It was with this in mind that while ostensibly revisiting one of the Unsub's previous lairs that Jarod spotted the large Asian who protected Parker. Happy to have found the sweeper, Jarod eagerly pulled to the curb, retrieved a bouquet of flowers he had stowed away in a cooler and tucking a note among the blooms, approached the Centre sweeper.

If Moriyama was surprised by Jarod's appearance, the expression never touched his face. Reluctantly, he accepted the flowers and the brief instructions given to him by this renegade pretender. As the muscle-bound bodyguard slowly turned away with the gift, Jarod smilingly returned to the car, jumped in and continued on his way. 

Teddy had surreptitiously followed Jarod and watched the exchange with a sinking feeling. He was confused by what he had witnessed because he had always prided himself in accurately reading people. Jarod then confirmed Elliot's vicious rumors and Teddy's shifting opinion of him by asking for directions to the forest house he had offered a couple of months ago. 


	7. Dinner and ?

****

Joint Venture

Chapter VII

By Callisto

**__**

The Centre

Blue Cove, DE

"The symptoms are very specific and only happens when a particular person is around."

"Sounds like you're talking about love. Are you referring to yourself or someone else?" 

Ignoring the question, he asked one himself, "Is there any way to know when you've made the right choice?" 

"There isn't any set formula or physical reaction that can insure that you've found the best choice for you. Your own heart is the only accurate measurement. Have you found a worthy candidate, Jarod?" 

"Perhaps, Sydney, perhaps. Despite all my training, pretends and years away from the Centre, women are still an enigma to me." 

"If you're lucky, they will continue to be so for the rest of your life," Sydney answered with a fond chuckle. Sobering up suddenly, Sydney remembered what had been concerning him about one woman in his life and wanted Jarod's thoughts on how he could possibly help free her from her present predicament. "Speaking of which, there is someone I am hoping you will assist me in helping---Miss Parker."

"And how is the testy Miss Parker? She seems more demure as of late. Has something changed recently, other than her assigned duties?" Jarod inquired smugly. 

Sydney then explained some of the intrigues behind Miss Parker's transfer from hunting him down to a senior executive in charge of Centre operations and the subsequent threats Raines was using to keep her in line up to and including her current assignment. Jarod listened to Sydney's story with interest. The details Sydney supplied filled in the blank spots Parker had intentionally left out. It was during Sydney's dissertation that Jarod came to a decision about Miss Parker.

"Sydney, there is something I would like for you to find out," Jarod began slowly, knowing he would have to handle this request with care. 

"What is it? I'll do my best to get the answer to you," Sydney replied with hope showing in his voice. 

"From what your saying, Miss Parker is in charge of 3 sweeper teams and is always surrounded by bodyguards. Get me the names and dossiers of those sweepers. The key to approaching Parker will be in that information," he reasoned. 

"Of course, though I don't see what good that will do. I've seen you slip past her security teams with ease in the past," Sydney replied with a slight hesitation as he considered the best way to obtain Jarod's request. "Give me a few days and I'll e-mail their files to you." 

**__**

Teddy's Forest house 

Prairie Point, CO

For the tenth time, Jarod checked the bubbling water in the caldron, The lobster was almost ready and she hadn't shown up yet. He sat down at the beautifully set table and considered all the possible reasons for her failure to show. While he was doing this, thoughts of what he had gone through to make this a special evening replayed in his head. The surprise in Teddy's eyes to find out this would be the first time Jarod had taken him up on the offer of the cabin. Then the list of ingredients for dinner. The last piece of the puzzle was the selection of DVD's. He doubted she would hang around long enough to watch any of them, but he got them just in case. The old guy at the video store assured him that the selection he had suggested was guaranteed to melt any woman's heart. He referred to the movie as 'chick flick' and assured Jarod that she would not only love it but was sure it would illicit a tear of two of gratitude. The last part of his statement made Jarod pause as he fleetingly considered previewing the movie first before springing it on Parker. To be on the safe side, Jarod haunted the aisles and picked up a couple other movies that seemed more promising from his own knowledge of Parker's proclivities. 

Sighing in frustrated resignation, Jarod got up to remove the lobster from the boiling water when a knock sounded on the back door adjacent to the kitchen. Wary surprise caused his brow to furrow as Jarod peered out and found Moriyama at the back door. Jarod stepped back and opened the door, wondering what excuse she had sent back with her bodyguard. He had sent the invitation to dinner in the note he had hidden within the flowers. There had been no response from her, until a brief message was delivered to him at the office stating that she accepted.

On the back steps stood the imposing figure of Moriyama. The bodyguard looked at Jarod impassively for several seconds before pushing past him and entering the home. Jarod looked at the sweeper in surprise and glanced back through the door to find Miss Parker standing before him, an amused expression gracing a set of eyes he was starting to enjoy staring into immensely.

"Miss Parker, I'm glad you've finally arrived. I was beginning to think that you had changed your mind," Jarod said jovially as he opened the door wider as an invitation.

"Me? Pass up a date with a pretender who was once a short-order cook, sex therapist and a sommelier all in the same life time, not to mention in the same year? Not a chance. I'm no genius but I'm not a fool either." Parker replied with a laugh in her voice. 

Returning her smile with a devastatingly charming one of his own, he led the way into the living room. There they exchanged the usual civilities, including taking her coat and offering a glass of pre-dinner wine---all of which were gracefully accepted. During dinner they continued their light banter and much to Parker's surprise she thoroughly enjoyed the meal Jarod prepared. She had heard that he was a fantastic cook from his contacts after he was forced to leave them to avoid capture. She had heard a lot of mostly favorable things about him from all of the people he had left behind but this was the first time she got a chance to personally sample his abilities beyond the aptitude to irritate her.

They didn't speak at all of the case, instead indulged in the recollection of their shared childhood memories. They spoke for a couple hours, often pausing and taking a moment to stare at each other. The attraction building inside them steadily escalated as they continued to banter, needle and reminisce. At last the meal was over and they adjourned to the living room. Jarod cheerfully announced that he had obtained a selection of DVD's for their entertainment. Parker lifted her eyebrows with mild surprise and smiled gently. "Dinner and a movie? I'm impressed. And what exactly are you expecting from me to deserve all this?"

"Your company, Miss Parker, nothing else," Jarod responded quietly as he powered up his DVD player. He stood up suddenly and looked at her questioningly, then strode over to the couch in full view of the television. Parker shrugged and joined him as the screen went blank and the DVD started. 

"Is this an action/adventure flick or a horror movie?" she asked coolly.

"Neither, I was told that this is a movie most women would find enjoyable." 

"And who is the fountain of knowledge? A fellow female officer or some CSI tech?" 

"No, the guy at the video store. Said this show was a sure-fire bet," Jarod replied, then quietly to himself, 'for an evening I will never forget.'

Parker felt the incompleteness of his response and turned to see if he would finish. When he didn't she relaxed back against the cushions next to him and watched as the beginning sequence started. She stared at the screen in utter disbelief as her eyes settled on the screen.

"Oh my God!!" she yelled. 

Even Moriyama's eyes had widened in shock. Jarod on the other hand gave her a confused look and sat forward on the couch. It was obvious this wasn't her type of movie. Parker looked at Jarod, her face a study in irritation.

"Exactly how old was the moron who recommended this movie?" 

"Uhh, well, he looked like he was in his eighties but he assured me he was seventy-one years young. Why?" 

Parker settled back into the cushions and placed her hand over her eyes. Jarod watched her every move, knowing her reaction wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for but still wondering what she would do next. Parker turned and looked at him as though he were a raving lunatic thinking she would sit still through this movie. Rising impatiently from the couch with an energy that surprised him, Jarod followed her and stood in her path blocking her sudden exit. 

"Parker, where are you going? If you don't like the movie, I did get others just in case the old guy was wrong. Stay, I have a fairly diverse selection, why don't you chose one?" he asked urgently, as though desperate for some company. Parker paused and stared into Jarod's eyes, taking note of their expression. 

"Why? Why is it so important for me to stay? What do you want from me?" Parker asked curiously.

"I've enjoyed having you here, talking, joking and sharing some memories. You're about the only person alive that I can do this with. I know you're as lonely as I am and I'm also aware of your pride," he answered in a lowered voice. "All I'm asking for is another hour or so of your company." 

Parker stood still for a few seconds, staring at her old friend. The pull of their mutual attraction was subtly gaining strength as Jarod candidly returned her stare. Internally, she acknowledged that she was very lonely, despite all her bodyguards and never being alone. With her new role as leading executive in charge of Centre operations, she was bone tired. This latest assignment had turned out to be more draining than she expected. So far in the past few weeks she had been able to get about a total of 48 hours sleep. It wasn't the pressure of producing the little weasel turned terrorist but a culmination of events that stretched over the past couple years and started with the discovery of her father's perfidy and cowardly plunge from the airplane. Abruptly understanding her own needs and not wanting be alone any more than Jarod, Parker glanced around at the small stack of DVD's sitting in a cubby hole of the entertainment center. She reached over, removed one of them and handed it to Jarod. "I'll sit still for this, the last time I watched this movie I was 10 and it just happens to be one of my favorites." 

Jarod looked down at her selection and forcibly kept the smile threatening to break out all over his face from revealing itself. The movie she had chose was what he suspected would be more to her liking. His mute answer to her was instead a small smile of relief and extending his arm, indicated that he wanted her to return to the couch. For the next 90 minutes the former friends almost effortlessly began reconnecting on a more adult level. Looking over at his dinner companion, Jarod reached over and gingerly took one of her hands, much in the same manner as he had in the back of the limo. Her eyes warily watched what he was doing as Jarod turned over her hand and gently caressed her palm using her own. In return, with more gentleness than she had previously used, Parker removed her hand from Jarod's giving him a light squeeze before returning her attention to the movie. Parker, with unconscious equanimity, explained the meaning of the arcane slang used in the movie and smiled as Jarod offered his ideas on who the murder was before it was revealed. Of course he was correct but hearing the explanation offered by the movie made Parker smile and shake her head.

With a small measure of reluctance, Parker rose from her seat to leave. Jarod sensing the evening was over followed her to the easy chair where he had draped her overcoat and scarf. As she reached out to grab her things, Jarod caught her hand and laced his fingers through hers. Parker stood straight to face him and allowed him to take her other hand.

"Thanks for staying tonight. I've enjoyed every moment," he said in a softly deep voice. 

Parker smiled lazily as she gazed into the pretender's dark eyes. Slowly she disentangled her fingers from his, wrapped her hand around his neck and brought his head down for a long, lingering kiss. Jarod was surprised but quickly recovered and returned the kiss passionately. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her body into his. As she pulled away, Jarod tightened his grip on her, dropped his head to neck and began kissing her perfumed skin. She uttered a soft sigh of pleasure, then pulling away again, kissed him again. By this time, Jarod had is other hand in her hair and devoted all his attention to their kiss. While they continued necking, their tacit attraction turned from implicit to distinctly physical. With a great deal of fumbling and chuckling, the pretender and the Center executive made their way into the bedroom. Moriyama watched dutifully as his boss left the room with Jarod, his face a mask of impassivity. Once they were gone, Moriyama took a seat in a club chair next to the couch and settled in to watch the movie Parker couldn't stand and he had never seen: _It Happened One Night_.   


The following morning was bright, beautiful and still. A fresh coating of snow fell overnight, while inside the fireplace harbored cooled embers leaving a chill in the air. Parker woke from her light dose after a wonderfully sleepless night, she found herself surprisingly alert and refreshed. Jarod was lightly napping when Parker pulled his bathrobe around herself, slid her feet in a pair of new looking felt slippers and walked towards the kitchen. There Moriyama was already awake with a pot of coffee brewed and sitting at the table with a steaming mug. Parker nodded to him, found the mug that he had left out for her and filled it up. Jarod followed her a few minutes later, got a glass of juice from the fridge and stepped back, his eyes taking in the whole scene. He thought about having his former huntress and nemesis as a lover while her bodyguard stayed within shouting distance. 'He must have gotten an earful last night,' Jarod mused. He looked over at Parker to find her staring at him. Averting her gaze after reading the look in his eyes, a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, as she looked into her mug, then turned around to look out the kitchen window at the Currier & Ives-like scenery outside.

A word had yet to be spoken, when Jarod quietly sat down his glass and walked over to Parker. He tugged one shoulder of her robe down, then bent over and started kissing her warm flesh. A wide smile appeared on Parker's face and partially turning she leaned gently against him. The look on Jarod's face as he brought his lover's body closer in was that of deeply satisfied desire. As though he had found the one person who could relieve his loneliness. Unexpectedly, Parker twirled in Jarod's arms with a wide, delighted smile on her face. Jarod, having made it up to her neck before she turned around, changed the expression on his face completely. Parker grinned happily at her lover who was now sporting his usual self-confident grin. Moriyama had never seen anything quite like it. In one moment, Jarod's face held the extreme expression of having found the one precious thing in the world he needed to that of his other persona, the one Miss Parker always saw and accepted. He had seen others conceal their feelings or swing from one emotion to the next in a bipolar episode but what Jarod did was very different. It was fast, controlled, thought out and it alarmed Moriyama to the core. He had heard of pretenders and the project involving them but he had never seen one in action. Now Moriyama was forced to look at Jarod in a thoroughly new light and this concerned him. The fact that Jarod had let him see this transformation was as deeply troubling as it was sinister.

Parker, after trading a few barbs with Jarod, who seemed reluctant to let her go, announced that she was going in the other room to put some clothes on. She eased out of Jarod's grasp and left the room. Both men watched her go, then turned and looked at each other. If Moriyama had been able to show an expression on his face, shock would have settled there. Jarod now was staring at Moriyama as though the 300lb bodyguard were an impediment he wouldn't mind eliminating. To test the pretender's resolve, Moriyama laid a card on the table.

"I will protect her by any means necessary. No one and nothing will deter me or prevent me from fulfilling my duty." 

Jarod tilted his head to one side and stared at the bodyguard as though taking his measure. In another bizarre switch, Jarod gave Moriyama a boyish grin and said, "I remember viewing an old newsreel in which Malcolm X gave that speech." The grin slowly faded from Jarod's lips as his expression turned menacing. "But then again, you've never had to deal with me. Don't get in the way of anything I truly want, I have a tendency to become unreasonable. Just ask Lyle." 


	8. Sharing the heat

**

Joint Venture

**

**

Chapter VIII

**

**

By Callisto

**

****

Teddy's Forest House

Prairie Point, CO

In an effort to flesh out the kernel of an idea that had been germinating in his mind for some time, Jarod left the kitchen and wandered out into the living room. He had left the disconcerted Moriyama alone to gather his thoughts and make some plans of his own. Jarod began to pace unconsciously, then stopping himself, he laid down on the roomy sleeper couch and submersed his thoughts and concentration inside himself. He was unaware of how long he had been lying there or what alerted him that someone was observing him but when he looked up he found Parker looking down at him curiously.

"I was about to ask, 'Penny for your thoughts?' but knowing the price a certain ghoul has placed on your head, I doubt I have the money for whatever your little gray cells can dream up. What was so engrossing?"

"My continued freedom from your homicidally, power-hungry family of co-workers," he replied harshly. "That and something else which will require my attention the minute we catch up to your murderous employee," he answered as he looked at her keenly. "You look tired, can you get to sleep?" 

The sight of Jarod stretched out in slightly oversized sweatpants, long sleeved t-shirt, thick socks and looking supremely comfortable was temptingly enticing. Parker after slowly taking his measure, met his calmly inquisitive eyes and offered a barely perceptible shrug. Within the span of those few seconds, she recalled how just recently she had allowed her desires to supercede her common sense when she returned Jarod's kiss in the rental car. That one act had led to others and resulted in last night's erotic adventure. Now she was considering the option of either returning to bed alone to toss and turn without ever achieving anything more than a light dose or conquering her aversion to encouraging an emotionally fulfilling entanglement and curling up on top of Wonder-genius, who right now looked more inviting than the couch he was lying on. The choice wasn't a difficult one and curiously felt like another turning point as she smiled down at her childhood friend.

"No, but I have an idea on how. Would you mind helping?" 

At Jarod's puzzled answering grin, Parker smiled gratefully. In semi-erotic increments she arranged herself around him. By the time she was done, her hip was wedged between his body and the couch, her head was cuddled next to his, and she had one arm resting on his chest. He felt good; firm yet comfortable, soft where she liked and unyielding where she needed--much like his personality. Moving one leg between his own, she felt his body react to her unintentional contact with his groin. She tensed thinking he would want a replay of the morning but when he remained still, Parker began to relax and quickly fell into a deepening slumber. 

Jarod waited until she fully relaxed, felt her momentarily tense then settle into slumber. He remained motionless, waiting for the tell-tell signs of REM sleep. Her body eventually became heavier and her breathing steadied as Jarod shifted to become more comfortable. Having her in his arms like this was something he never thought she would ever allow. He returned with more determination to his earlier thoughts on how best to separate her from her masters, minimizing the pain it would cause her or those in her world she cared about. However, after only a few minutes, the soothing sound of her even breathing started to work on him. Jarod pulled a partially folded coverlet over Parker and himself then quickly joined her in slumber.

Several hours later, Moriyama received a call from the Centre for his boss. Placing the call on mute, the bodyguard walked into the living room and stared at her intently. Moriyama had been concerned about his boss for several months now. She was too isolated, too alone and too uptight for her own good; however, her budding relationship with this man, the Centre's crown jewel, a pretender who definitely had an agenda of his own that centralized on his boss, was disquieting to say the least. Every hour, Moriyama had returned to the room to check on her to find the lovers resting comfortably in each other's embrace. Remembering the oddly possessive expression on the pretender's face, Moriyama walked up to the couple on the couch and tapped Jarod's foot with the cell phone. The second attempt produced the results he had been looking for--Jarod opened his eyes.

"The Centre is on the phone. This is a call she must take," Moriyama said definitively. Jarod stared at Parker's bodyguard and slowly frowned wondering why the burly sweeper didn't just wake her on his own. 

"Her rest is elusive, interrupting it leaves her in a foul mood. You want to be her boyfriend, then you get to share the heat of her temper," Moriyama replied in answer to Jarod's unspoken question. 

Without changing expression, Jarod stared at the man. He realized in those few seconds that he had slightly underestimated the muscle-bound man. Slowly, with a great deal of gentleness, Jarod turned his head and lightly brushed the heavy tendrils of hair covering her face. Her lips were slightly parted and the expression on her face was peaceful. Reluctantly, Jarod leaned forward and moistening his own lips, he started kissing her. He kept kissing her cheek, nose and mouth until her eye lids began to flutter open. She tried to avert her face from his attention but was unable to fully avoid him. 

"Moriyama has your cell phone. He says Raines has an urgent need to speak with you," Jarod said in a creaky voice while nibbling on her ear. He had started to enjoy kissing her awake and stopped only when he could feel her irritation rise. Parker remained motionless with her face buried in his shoulder. Without looking up, she reached behind her and opened her hand in a mute command to give her the phone.

"What?" she asked in a sleep-filled voice into the phone. 

"Parker? Have we caught you sleeping on the job? No wonder you never had any success capturing Jarod," Lyle's smarmy voice answered sarcastically on speaker. 

"Lyle. Don't you have something better to do or did your Asian secretary file another harassment suit?"

"Your current assignment should be far easier to catch than the last one. Yet we are being met with the same results. I, on the other hand, am on the brink of bringing Jarod in where all you've done is fail. Poor Sis, perhaps you're no more up to this job than you were for the Jarod pursuit," Lyle stated with sly insinuation. 

"You're like a puppet whose lost his master's voice--all sound and no substance," Parker replied with drowsy disdain. "Have the results come in, Mr. Raines?" 

"Yes. Hemmings is currently in the second to last phase. The analysis of the material you had delivered is conclusive. We must apprehend Hemmings before he is able to complete this phase. The results of any live, uncontrolled testing would be devastating," Raines said breathily. 

"Not to mention the media-attracting death toll scaring off our ultra-cautious buyers. Nothing like letting a good secret out to ruin the element of surprise," Parker muttered sarcastically. Before either man could snap back a rejoinder, she continued, "Raines, what I need are details. What does this creep need, what special tools or location would he require to finish development? The more I know, the quicker I'll find this human garbage."

Raines began to tersely describe what the researcher would need and where he would most likely set up his workshop. Lyle stepped back and listened to his new 'father' as he supplied the details Parker requested. The interaction between the two was surprisingly cooperative. Parker listened without interruption and responded only with a few pointed and relevant follow-up questions--sans disdain. This unexpected collaboration alarmed Lyle to the point that he fell completely silent, his eyes rarely leaving Raines' face in an effort to catch every emotion the old man displayed. The effort, while earnest, netted him little since Raines' opinion and regard for Parker had changed little over the past couple years. Raines had always thought Parker's role within the Centre had been grossly miscast--an oversight he was determined should be rectified permanently. Under properly controlled conditions, Parker was an asset Raines was determined to use correctly and without the undue emotionalism in which his brother indulged.

By the end of the conversation, Raines asked, "The timeframe is tightening, Miss Parker. How much longer will this search take?" 

"I anticipate having the little worm in custody before the end of the coming week. Using your information, it should take a day or two to reposition my teams," she said tiredly. 

"Be sure that you do, Miss Parker," Raines stated ominously. Without giving Lyle a chance to say good-bye to his twin, Raines disconnected the line. 

"You two seem to be a lot chummier than I last remember. Are you having second thoughts?" Lyle asked blandly, effectively masking his growing anger.

Cold, blue eyes bore a scorching hole in Lyle's head as Raines stared at the younger man. "Your jealousy will one day be your undoing. I have given your plan my blessings, nothing has changed except the level of your petty insecurities." 

Lyle watched Mr. Raines as the old man folded himself heavily into his large chair. Of course, Raines was correct in his assessment of Lyle but the sociopath was loath to admit to it. Instead, Lyle nodded and said, "Everything is in place. All we're waiting for is Sis to clean up this mess and come back to the old homestead. This will probably mark the first time she will be completely under control and doing what we want so that we can return to what _we _do best." 

****

****

In Colorado, Parker exhaled heavily and snapped the cell phone shut. Shifting her weight to her other arm, she looked towards her trusted bodyguard. Moriyama moved closer so his boss wouldn't have to completely alter her position to see him and waited impassively for her instructions.

"Contact Sam, I need two from his team to sweep the sites we've already identified. Make sure he understands that I want them to use stealth and discretion. Use Team 3 to check the Delta site and have Team two canvass the area around here, alert me when he's located before moving in. One false move on our part will cause Hemmings to go to ground. Right now he thinks he's being clever avoiding capture, I don't want to disillusion him yet." During her speech, Parker carefully moved off of Jarod and stood facing Moriyama. 

"Perhaps we can turn this into a joint venture?" Jarod offered tentatively. Parker's conversation had pricked his interest and now he saw an opportunity he had been waiting for since he joined the Task Force--a chance to bring in an indiscriminate murderer. Parker raised an eyebrow at her bodyguard, then without answering turned around to look at Jarod. 

"Work with me on this. All it will take is a slight adjustment on your part and I'll be in your debt," he began earnestly. 

"My debt? Since a few things have changed recently, this offer has taken on new dimensions," she replied with a mischievous smile, as she handed her cell phone to Moriyama with a slight nod indicating he was free to leave and carry out her instructions. 

Watching the muscle-mountain of a man leave the room, Jarod said, "From the sound of your orders, you've already narrowed the search down to a handful of potential sites. You should have him within the next day or two," he responded, casually ignoring the lie she had told Raines. "Give the public the relief of knowing the suspect is in custody. People are in a panic and the situation will become worse before it gets any better if this guy just disappears. There will always be that tinge of uncertainty that he's still out there in their minds."

"It wouldn't hurt your Task Force's reputation either. The only problem here is that once my teams find him, I'm not letting him go. He's on the A-train to the Centre and there won't be any stops in between. He's caused enough misery as it is and I'm sure Raines has something suitably terminal in mind for this worm."

"What should happen is a public trial," he answered harshly bitter. Looking up he noticed Parker's face set into a mask of determined obstinacy. Holding up his hand to stop what he knew would be a terse and final rejection, he continued "Let the Task Force lead the guy out of whatever hole you find him and in full view of the media. Once he has been whisked away I'll arrange for him to land in your arms unharmed and ready for transport. It's a win-win situation for both of us." 

Shaking her head slowly Parker realized what had been turning out to be a thoroughly enjoyable weekend was quickly ending. She knew from the tone in his voice that Jarod had his heart set on this plan however, she had not only her orders but an evil twin back home waiting for her to make a fatal mistake. 

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. Like I said, the second my team gets their hands on this guy we take him and keep him. No chance for mistakes or for him to somehow slip through our fingers. Raines is fanatical about Centre exposure and I can't afford to ignore him," she stated firmly.

"Can't or won't?" he challenged. The couple stared at each other until Parker walked past him and towards the bedroom where she had left her street clothes. Realizing his error in reasoning with her, Jarod followed ready to offer an alternate suggestion. "Parker wait. Hear me out. Once you find him, surround the place with your men. Let me know when and where and the Task Force will show up. The local TV stations will see us loading the fugitive into a police van--a van driven by one of your people. That way he stays in your custody and the Task Force can say that they apprehended the bio-terrorist."

She stopped abruptly and turned around to stare at Jarod. His response was to lift his eyebrows and gave her a slight smile, careful to avoid the temptation of appearing smug. She studied his face then started nodding slowly. It was a plan she could agree to---with a few modifications.

"Alright, I think I can do that. Not bad, it's refreshing to know you haven't lost your touch," she said with a twist of her lips that resembled a smile as she reached over to a chair and grabbed her clothing. Jarod frowned thoughtfully, after last night he had hoped to entice her to stay the rest of the weekend. 

"Now that we have that particular issue settled, why don't you relax and take it easy. Your sweepers are doing their part by searching, all that's left to do is to wait for the results. I doubt you've had much of an opportunity to enjoy this time away from the Centre and one night seems hardly enough," he said in a deep, softly, persuasive voice. As he spoke, he gently covered her hand with his own and deftly extracted the clothing she had from her grip. The fingers of his other hand, intimately brushed her heavy hair from the side of her face and trailed lazily down her side, eventually encircling her waist as he drew her closer. Their foreheads met as Jarod lightly kissed her cheeks and lips. He brought up his hand and combed his fingers upward from her neck into the denser thickness of hair. Then, he gently kissed her, steadily allowing his passion to reveal itself.

For the fourth time, she listened to her desires and returned the kiss. Their hands roamed each other unhurriedly and with slow deliberation, Jarod and Parker collapsed on the bed, both intent on creating an erotic memory neither would soon forget. 


	9. Monday morning

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Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual cautionary statements.

****

Acknowlegements: I wish to extend my most sincere thanks to those who have taken the time to write reviews and share their thoughts with me. This 2nd chapter release in one week is for you! Ginger, you're the best! 

Joint Venture

Chapter IX

By Callisto

****

Teddy's forest house 

Prairie's Point, CO 

The weekend had been one of the most memorable she had ever experienced. At the onset of this assignment, it had never crossed her mind that she would run into Jarod, much less spend some quality time with him in this intimate setting and to have him pamper her at every opportunity. The thing causing her the most surprise was the extent to which she enjoyed his attention and affections. In truth, she was floating and loving every minute of it but she kept the depth of her emotions well hidden, having already learned caution in openly expressing her feelings for anyone she learned to care about. Oddly enough, the defining moment of the weekend occurred only a couple hours ago. 

She had woken up abruptly to find herself alone in bed. Jarod's now familiar warmth had been removed, all that remained was the faint and pleasant scent of him. Parker glanced around to see if he were still in the room when the sounds of someone in the cabin's lone bathroom softly reverberated through the walls. Quickly, she got up, meaning to tip toe stealthily on her lover, however the frigid chill emanating from the wooden floors caused her to practically run into the warmth of the bathroom. She slipped through the door silently to find Jarod brushing his teeth. What she hadn't expected was to find Moriyama, with his back to Jarod and the door, putting away the accoutrements of his recent toilette. Parker's eyes swiftly took in the scene and immediately assessed that her bodyguard would have an eyeful of his employer's nakedness in approximately 30 seconds if she didn't act fast. Turning to Jarod, who apparently hadn't noticed her entrance, she slid over to him and lightly pushing him away from the sink, she untied his bathrobe sash, opened the garment and wrapped her rapidly cooling body around him. Jarod paused, stunned not only by her unexpected appearance but by what she had done. He looked at her with an intently focused expression. Whatever was going on his mind, he wasn't sharing but stared at her through the mirror with a strange intensity--an expression similar to what Moriyama had witnessed yesterday morning. Parker missed Jarod's initial reaction, since she had swiftly pulled him in an embrace and watched her bodyguard over Jarod's shoulder while his body heat warmed her. When Jarod didn't move or react, she pulled away to look in his face and found him staring at her. The look on his face gave her goose bumps as Jarod moved around her to spit the residue of his toothpaste in the sink. After he straightened up, Jarod looked into her eyes and pulled her tightly against him. It was then that Parker realized belatedly, that he wasn't wearing anything under the robe. With a quiet smile, Jarod enclosed both of them in his robe and held Parker tighter, inhibiting her from breathing easily.

By this time, Moriyama had turned back around to find his boss had joined them in the bathroom. Realizing that although he had been the first one to claim this room, he was now an unwanted third wheel. Giving Parker a fleeting glance, Moriyama was about to leave, when he caught the non-verbal message in her eye. Without responding, the large man collected his belongings but before leaving the room, he took the spare bathrobe from the back of the door and laid it across the sink for his boss to put on. He gave her a polite bow of his head, then left.

The clutch Jarod had her in was strangely comforting--despite his grasp partially constricting her ribcage. Sensing her labored breathing, he relaxed his grip, allowing her to move away from him. She looked into his face again, this time, he tried to kiss her but she avoided him. Jarod was determined and bringing his hands up to cup her face, he kissed her passionately. Parker felt herself slowly give in to his influence as they began to make love again. Her thoughts were torn between wondering where he got all the energy from and thinking this must be what it felt like to be a Pez--one of Jarod's passing obsessions. 

Now as she prepared to leave, Parker began to reconsider her first impressions. The look on Jarod's face suggested that she was far more than one of his usual obsessions and that he had quite possibly invested more than she had originally thought in their unlikely liaison. She had never seen that look on his face before and his intensity left her mildly puzzled. 

Having Parker to himself and away from the influence of the Centre, Jarod had the chance to interact with her on a completely different level. The past 2 days were almost unimaginable and the partially obscured sight of her body behind the dressing screen in Ocee's parlor was only a teaser to the far more satisfying reality. The idea of their relationship taking on an intimate aspect was a challenge hoped for and a desire realized. The emotional fallout for him led to a territory that he hadn't traversed since he was a teenager--not wanting to let her go. His plans were quickly solidifying along with his resolve. Jarod realized he had within his grasp a lasting solution to his loneliness and that was Parker.

He watched her slowly pull on her dark, fashionably cut wool overcoat while cleverly avoiding looking in his eyes. Jarod wanted to smile at her diffident reluctance in leaving him which only added fuel to his plans. Their current predicament was uncomfortably similar to their first parting. That time, promises had been made, not kept and engendered an ingrained resentment on his part. Her explanation in front of the fireplace on Carthis helped a great deal and cleared the way for him to see beyond the Centre in her to the neglected, conditioned and trapped woman.

"…it goes both ways you know," she said, her last words finally catching Jarod's attention. He looked at her blankly and she repeated with edgy cynicism, "Our joint venture? The information flow goes both ways, you'll let me know if you catch our little murderer, right?" 

"Of course, Miss Parker. I'll hold up my end of the bargain, rest assured," he replied with an abrupt smirk. Allowing his smile to slowly fade, he said in a quietly, inquisitive voice, "I want to see you again." It was a statement of fact spoken in the manner of a question.

Parker tied the sash of her coat tightly around her waist. She was about to answer him when Moriyama appeared in her peripheral vision. When she looked at him, the bodyguard immediately spoke.

"_Oyabun_, four sites have already been ruled out. Chairman Raines called once asking for an update from Sam and there have been three inquiries into your federal employment file by the state Task Force. The Strike team leader believes he has found the target but has reported this only to me," Moriyama stated matter-of-factly. 

"Perfect. Tell Lucien to hold his position and to have his team surround the site. Have him advise you when he's done. Then inform him, his team and the backups that we are going dark and staying that way until I say otherwise. I don't want anyone speaking to the Centre except me. Have team one back up Lucien and absolutely everyone is to stay out of sight. We'll be leaving, shortly. Give me a minute," she replied softly. Turning to Jarod she noticed the bemused and interested expression on his face. Today, however she wasn't in the mood for explanations. "Walk me out to the car," she invited with a slight smile. 

"He's very devoted to you. Why does he refer to you as _Oyabun_?," Jarod inquired softly. 

"We have an understanding," came her incomplete reply. "My strike team is in Lakewood at an abandoned bottling warehouse on the western edge of the city limits. If you want to join us, then you're welcome to do so but I'll wait only until this piece of spineless waste decides to move." She was about the let his prior comment slide by without answering but suddenly changed her mind. In a soft, firm voice she said, "I would like to see you again but obviously we understand the risks on both sides. There's no need for you to take any unnecessary chances with your freedom. I think I can understand the concept of a one weekend stand. Let's call it our own private intermezzo. Sometimes it's best when its not repeated," she answered definitively. 

Jarod stared at her with a hint of defiance in his eyes, "You should remember how I always hated obstacles. I usually will think my way around them or remove them entirely. Happy hunting Parker," he said as he watched her get into the black Lincoln Town Car Moriyama drove for her. Once the door was shut and the large vehicle was pulling away, Jarod added to himself, "It will be a pleasure seeing you again--soon, very soon." With that the Pretender slowly reentered the cabin. Moriyama had just laid another card on the table in calling Parker _Oyabun_, alerting Jarod to another potential obstacle. It was a tidbit Sydney's research hadn't provided but help neatly tie up the loose ends left dangling by the sweeper's dossier. 

Moriyama drove away from the cabin in silence. Glancing in the rearview mirror often, he watched his boss closely. He placed the counter-eavesdropping device she designed on the dashboard, then finally he spoke in fluent Samoan, "You've done something to him. Something he is aware of and struggles to come to terms with." 

Parker glanced up and leaning back against the comfortable cushions she replied in the same language, "What ever I've done, he'll get over, quickly." 

"From the look on his face, I doubt it. This will turn out to be situation you will have to face and deal with, _Oyabun_," the bodyguard/advisor stated with calm certainty. He had seen the blissful look on her face while the Pretender held her tightly in his embrace. It was this expression which assisted Moriyama in making a fateful decision.

"One thing at a time, Moriyama. First the bug hunt. What were you able to find out from Raines' inquiry?" 

"That unless ordered, Sam tells the Chairman the truth. His loyalties lie with the Centre. Mark has been assigned to shadow Jarod, he will start phoning in updates within the next 10 minutes. Lucien is personally attending to the search of the upper area of Hemmings' lair." 

"I'll handle Sam. When he works for me, he's with me all the way. Lets get over to Lakewood immediately, so we can set up before the calvary arrives." 

****

Bradley's Bottlery

Lakewood, CO

The joint State and Federal Task force arrived in full strength at the warehouse. Without having any concrete intelligence beyond the tip obtained by Douglas, the force deployed a SWAT team as backup, just in case. Their base of operations was contained in an oversized van out of sight and two blocks away. All appeared quiet when 30 minutes later with a proper warrant in hand, Lieutenant Randall ordered his people to cautiously proceed inside the building and take the suspect into custody. In a flurry of activity, 6 fully suited SWAT team members entered the premises, found the suspect and took him into custody without incident. Lt. Randall, along with Special Agent Sommers and key members of the task force entered the building to get a look at their elusive quarry. As a special favor for the Feds, all of the local and most of the national news networks were waiting eagerly to record the event that had captured the horror and fascination of the rest of the country. 

Entering the warehouse, Randall looked at the man who had murdered at least a dozen people and injured twice as many. He was standing between two tall SWAT team members and stared with arrogant, disdain at the people who had hunted him to this conclusion. "It's about time you were brought to justice and we'll make sure that happens in front of a jury of your peers and a few million in the television audience." Randall stood with satisfied arrogance before the bio-terrorist, flanked by an equally overconfident Agent Sommers, the two Special Agents who usually accompanied her and by a glory-seeking Elliot.

"You really think _they _will let you do that? You think I came out of nowhere, with no funding and no direction? Well, for my part, I look forward to your so-called trial, that should make the old bald, breathless fart sit up and take notice," Hemmings taunted with warped pleasure. The scientist/terrorist was a portly man with a violently receding hairline, a gut that strained the buttons of a too-tight shirt and eyes that slightly protruded, which served to explain Parker's derisive metaphor for him. At Randall's poor attempt to conceal his confusion, Hemmings laughed haughtily.

A sudden anger rose from deep inside his chest with a surprising heat at the chutzpa of this dirtbag laughing at him, Randall stated in a forcibly calm voice, "We'll see who's laughing when you get a taste of your own medicine, complements of the State of Colorado."

"Not so fast there, Charlie Chan. You'll have to stand in line for that privilege." A clear, slightly amused female voice stated with finality.

Everyone in the warehouse looked towards the source of the voice. Walking around a screen of over a dozen 30 gallon barrels stacked 8 feet high, the slim, dark suited figure of a woman came into view. She was tall, sleek, sophisticated and stylish as her boots clicked a reverberating rhythm on the concrete floor. Her dark hair was tightly contained in a beautiful chignon, her eyes obscured by black Ray-Ban sunglasses, her pale complexion showed only in her face since every other inch of her was swathed in dark fabric or leather.

"Who the hell are you?" Randall asked in a deeply irritated voice. 

"A collector and right now you will turn over that little piece of crap your men are holding up," Parker replied calmly. The expression on his face told her he was about to lose his temper, and as a defusing mechanism she continued speaking, effectively cutting Randall off before he could get going. "Now, Lieutenant, let's not argue over this worthless example of human depravity. Your time and efforts are of better use elsewhere." 

While she was speaking, Parker noticed Elliot step up to his Lieutenant and whisper into his ear, "Sir, that's the same woman I saw Douglas with in the warehouse down the street from the sorority house." 

Jarod, who entered the warehouse along with the rest of the team, saw what was happening with dismay. Parker had showed up far ahead of schedule and now the added complication of Elliot advising Randall about her identity was turning this whole operation into a waking nightmare. 

Elliot's comment to the Lieutenant also caught Teddy's attention and made him look even more closely at Parker. From her manners it was obvious she was used to supervising others in less than ideal situations. It was her class, looks and accent which told Teddy that this was the ultimate recipient of Jarod's notes and gifts. There was no question that she was Jarod's love interest. He sighed deeply, feeling vindicated in his original assessment of Jarod's sexuality. Teddy believed it was these attributes that explained the increased venom in Elliot's jealousy. It was nice to know that his ability to read people retained its accuracy at a steady 98%. As far as his ego was concerned, this discovery was practically on a par with finally catching up to the murderer. 

"So you're the woman from IIB Douglas invited to the party. I've heard about you. I'm telling you this straight out, this guy stays with us and for good measure, I believe you should accompany us also, so you can explain your actions to your bosses," Randall declared smugly. 


	10. Left holding the bag

****

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual disclaimer. 

****

**

Joint Venture

**

**

Chapter X

**

**

By Callisto

**

**__**

Bradley's Bottlery Warehouse

Lakewood, CO 

Lieutenant Randall had every reason to feel good about himself. He had somehow flipped a terminally loser case with one bad break after another into a career enhancing winner. First he had been saddled with an extra body he hadn't asked for but it turned out Douglas was a better asset than he could have anticipated. The seasoned, FBI trained profiler reorganized the team and helped refocus their efforts along a more productive line. Then when the very special agents from the FBI finally arrived, they managed to keep out of the Task Force's way and occasionally helped with background checks and forensics expertise otherwise unavailable on a local or state level. Now this bitch appears out of nowhere thinking she can come in and try to piss on his parade--just when he was on the brink of showing the powers that be what he was about. Life was looking good and to top everything off catching this IIB spook off pace and by the short hairs was making his day.

Parker paused briefly, noting Lt. Randall's supercilious expression. In response, she gave him a wide, predatory smile then slowly walked over to him. Jarod had seen that smile before and despite his heady, deeply entrenched affection for her, that particular grin still reminded him of a certain crocodile he had met in the Florida Everglades. Parker rarely walked into a situation she didn't already have a way out of or at the very least--backup. The embarrassing pranks he had subjected her to after his escape from the Centre had taught her that much.

"Feeling a little cocky, eh?" she said as she slipped past the Lieutenant's comfort zone and stood inches from his face. "Well, this is a good news, bad news situation. Which would you like first?" 

Determined not to flinch or step away from the woman's intimidation, Randall stood his ground. The smile on his face however, faltered then fell completely. Wisely he remained silent and stared at Parker with hollow defiance. When Parker was sure the policeman's assurance had been properly shaken, she lifted her hand holding up three gloved fingers waving them subtly in a slow circle and suddenly the sounds of several automatic rifles being primed for firing could be heard. Lt. Randall looked up and around to see over a dozen black-suited, urban assault outfitted and well armed personnel appear on the catwalks suspended above the warehouse floor and pointing their fully automatic weapons on the SWAT team and Task Force officers below.

"Good news, they're not trigger happy. I always pride myself in bringing only the best in party favors," she said with grim finality. 

"There's no reason for your people to fear exposure, the Task Force will take all the credit here and no one on the outside will know you were even here," Jarod stated earnestly for the sake of his co-workers.

"I'll pass that on, I'm sure my employers will be relieved. The main thing we were concerned about was getting our hands on Hemlock Hemmings, he's ours now. No compromises." she replied coolly, never taking her eyes off Randall. A short scuffle started as Hemmings who now fully understood what was happening tried to free himself. Two of the SWAT team members tightened their grips on his arms. 

"Sounds like you don't quite believe me." Jarod said disappointedly. He was relieved that she understood what part she had to play, despite her early entrance. Gauging her mood, he wanted to keep a close eye on her for his own reasons. 

"It's been interesting working with you, Jarod. You definitely have skills, including a few you've taught me to appreciate. But that doesn't mean I'll forget how to do my job," Parker countered angrily, warming up to her part. Hers was a dual role, one for the morons Jarod called co-workers, the other for her co-workers, though she knew this part of her performance would end up on the proverbial cutting room floor.

"What the hell is going on here?" Special Agent Summers asked loudly. 

"She's with IIB and for some Special Agency reason they became interested in this case. My guess is that the IIB is the _they _our murdering fiend was yammering about but then that's something only understood by you Feds," Douglas muttered in a harsh whisper trying to get Summers to shut up. 

Jarod surreptitiously fingered the treated cloth he was keeping in his inside jacket pocket. It wasn't quite time yet but the way things were progressing so quickly, it soon would be. Stepping forward he said to Parker, "Let's avoid any more in-fighting and get this guy out of here. The cameras are outside and waiting, thanks to your sister agency, but we'll maintain control to reshape the story to fit all of _our _needs." 

"Hey, I _know _you. I know who you are. What is this? They're going to kill me! Don't let her take me away! She's from the Tower! There won't be any trial, no justice. This is a death sentence! They pushed me to do this!! If they didn't take everything I owned, everything I built, none of this would've ever happened. Don't let them _do _this!! She's a Tower executive, everyone is afraid of them. Look, I'll tell you everything you want to know. I have the client files and financing, proof that everything I'm saying is true, just don't let her take me!!" Hemmings pled desperately in a loud voice.

Coolly stepping away from the Lieutenant then looking over, Parker made another hand gesture and several sweepers surged forward, threatening and manhandling the real SWAT team with automatics aimed in their faces and roughly took hold of Hemmings while he continued airing his grievances against the Tower. That done, Parker said with genuinely disgusted irritation, "Shut him up." Sam stepped forward and taped Hemmings' mouth shut. 

Turning, Sam was taken aback by the sight of Jarod. He was one of only a very few sweepers on Parker's teams to recognize the pretender and he inquired quietly nodding in Jarod's direction, "Ma'am? What about him?"

"Not our concern. It'll be fun watching Nimrod play Wile E. Coyote for a change. Should teach Thumb-thief the value of good phone etiquette and keeping a civil tongue in his head," she murmured grimly to Sam, lightly touching his muscular arm. 

Randall, Summers, Elliot and Jarod listened with interest to this exchange. Jarod breathed a sigh of relief that Parker continued to refrain from using any names, leaving everyone else puzzled by her references. Randall surmised that Jarod Douglas used to be employed by the IIB and the beautiful woman with all the firepower was his old girlfriend. A deep, ingrained cynicism regained hold on Randall's quickly diminishing hopes. Staring at the stunning woman who was annihilating his good day, Randall tried to mitigate the damage by asking, "Uh, Parker, how 'bout you skip the bad news? Look, I'm willing to overlook this fiasco and me and my men will just quietly leave and take this guy with us." 

Parker turned her attention back to the Lieutenant and stared at him from behind her dark glasses. Randall wondered how she could see at all since the light in the warehouse was limited. However, the time for Parker to respond stretched on until it became clear to everyone that his speaking to her so familiarly, much less at all, offended her.

"What she needs, I'm sure Jarod was incapable of handling. That's probably the reason for her lousy mood," Elliot commented aloud, intentionally amusing some of the other Task Force members. 

She looked at him, then nodded for her people to expose their velcroed SWAT insignia and walk Hemmings into the waiting van. The ripping sound of velcro filled the air as Parker's team seamlessly blended in with the real SWAT officers. With growing exasperation, Randall retorted crossly, "Looks like you've thought of everything." 

"She may not be too trusting but she's definitely thorough," Jarod said quietly, wondering where she would throw in the wrinkle to his plan. He didn't have long to wait. 

"I have no trouble trusting--you. It's your co-workers who aren't looking too trustworthy or sounding too bright. Guess that's what happens when you get left holding an empty bag," she responded looking pointedly at Randall. The Lieutenant allowed his shoulders to droop a fraction, knowing this was the bad news she had been referring to earlier. She nodded to one of the government-cloned aides who always accompanied Special Agent Summers, and ordered quietly, "Go with them, let me know if there are any problems." 

"Yes, Ma'am," the Federal clone responded promptly. He quickly detached himself from his agency counterparts and joined Sam and the rest of Team 1 in parading Hemmings in front of the cameras. Summers watched one her most trusted aides in slack-jawed astonishment, as the man unhesitatingly followed this strange woman's orders. This time even Jarod was impressed by the level and scope of her team's infiltration in the Task Force. She had always had an inside track on everything they were doing. 

In the next few seconds, the van was loaded with Sam and his entire team and they sped away in full view of the national networks with the long awaited prize murderer. Once they were gone, Parker turned back to Lt. Randall and company. She was about to announce that she and her teams would leave them without incident, when Jarod eased up behind her and having withdrawn the pre-treated cloth he reached around Parker and covered her mouth. Her eyes bulged with shock as she unintentionally breathed in the fumes. She held her breath for an impressive amount of time while she genuinely struggled against her lover.

Simultaneously, Moriyama and his team immediately surrounded Jarod as he held the cloth over Parker's nose and mouth and drew his 9mm holding it flat against Parker's stomach as she struggled mightily. Moriyama kept his team at bay as he watched Jarod intently. This was the Pretender's play and the head sweeper was interested in how Jarod figured on getting out of the warehouse alive. With a sinking heart, Moriyama watched as his _Oyabun _slowly succumbed to whatever Jarod used on the cloth. The bodyguard hoped his suppositions about the pretender were correct or he would be forced to kill someone who was very dear to his boss.

As Parker slowly stopped struggling, Jarod recalled the conversation he and Teddy had about subconscious suggestions. He hoisted her half-limp body higher so he could whisper softly in Russian in her ear before she lost consciousness, "I refuse to lose you again, Sweetheart." 

With his back to the side door of the warehouse and half a dozen red laser sights on him, Jarod slowly turned so everyone could get a look at what he was doing. Carefully keeping his face hidden behind her head, Jarod methodically showed her remaining teams how he had her propped up against the business end of his weapon to discourage them from shooting him. Moriyama caught on quickly and said in a loud voice, "Team 3, stand down! Stand down, he has a dead man's grip on the weapon. Anyone who shoots him, will kill her." The red laser sights immediately disappeared as Jarod watched for any expression to cross Moriyama's face.

"Douglas, what the hell do you think your doing?" Randall yelled in disappointed defeat. What had started out as a wonderful day, with him at the top of his game was ending up to be a career ender of ulcer-making proportions. Being one-upped by some Federal information hack with an unlimited budget was one thing, to have his prized team member decide to go rogue now of all times was the icing on his soon-to-be early, forced retirement cake. 

"Making sure I get out of here in one piece. There are things going on here that you have no idea about. She's my ticket to freedom." Glancing at Moriyama, Jarod continued, "I'm going to take her with me. I give you my word, no harm will come to her as long as none of you does anything stupid." Jarod had caught the look that passed between Moriyama and a slender, quick-witted looking man who appeared ready to shoot Jarod. Moriyama's slight shake of the head gave Jarod the opening he needed. He effortlessly lifted Parker's limp body in one arm and backed out of the side door and into a waiting car just outside the warehouse. 

Moriyama immediately ordered the rest of his team to pursue Jarod. Then turned to Lucien and ordered him and his men to the rendezvous point. Lucien walked over to Moriyama and stared at his fellow sweeper. 

"You sure about doing it this way?" Lucien whispered anxiously. 

"It is the only way," Moriyama answered tersely. "I'm depending on you to make sure her 'relatives' have nothing to feed on."

A small, cynical smile creased the hardened sweeper's face as he looked away, then turned back. "We found the packages. I'll hang on to them until I hear from her to hand them over. If there is ever _anything_ she needs, you had better tell me. I hope to God you're right about this." 

At Moriyama's short nod, the Strike Force command sweeper paused for several seconds thinking how he got invited to this show. Being the leader of one of Miss Parker's teams had turned into an unexpected bonanza. He had never thought working for a woman, much less a beauty, would ever be worthwhile. Not only had it been that but much more. She insisted on innovative thinking from her team leaders--with the usual limitations. Her guidelines were law but those rules turned out to be surprisingly progressive. As a result, his strike team was the best the Centre had ever produced. Unfortunately, one of those guidelines included taping every mission for debriefing purposes but that would be taken care of personally by him. Lucien paused for several seconds before systematically withdrawing his team, leaving the Colorado Tactical Task Force alone in the now empty warehouse.

****

Jarod's lair

Red Cliff, CO

The procession following Jarod as he made his way to his cabin was unshakable. He used a number of tricks to lose his pursuers and even his pre-arranged strategy of leaving them stuck behind in grid-locked traffic didn't work. He didn't know Moriyama had stayed behind for a few minutes, making sure the warehouse site would be left clear of any evidence of Centre involvement. Jarod's gambit was revealed by Moriyama's forward team, enabling him to avoid the grid-lock and to pick up the pursuit where the others had been bogged down.

Jarod kept a close eye on his hostage who was still unconscious and oblivious to the vehicular struggle over her. He checked his rearview window and noticed Moriyama was keeping pace with him but the bodyguard maintained his distance as though reluctant to have Jarod do something rash that would endanger his _Oyabun_. The title kept pestering Jarod as he circled his lair for the second time. Finally, deciding on trusting his instincts which told him to trust Moriyama, he drove up to his secluded cabin, skidded to a stop and had Parker out of the car and in his arms by the time Moriyama stepped out of his own vehicle. Jarod paused only for a second before walking quickly into the cabin. 

Moriyama alighted from his vehicle followed by Horace who drove the unmarked police vehicle he 'borrowed' at his boss' insistence, leaving the rented Town Car behind for Lucien and his team. Moriyama watched as Jarod carried Parker's limp body into the cabin. The bodyguard ordered Horace to wait for the others and to stay off the radio unless absolutely necessary, then followed Jarod into the cabin--the sight of his _Oyabun's _helplessness causing an almost blinding anger in Moriyama. 

Once inside, Moriyama was cautious in his pursuit as he searched the downstairs area for Jarod and Parker. Upstairs, the bodyguard found them in a large bedroom. Jarod was leaning over Parker and staring at her as though he were so myopic that he needed to be within inches of her face in order to see her.

"Step away from her and put your hands up," Moriyama ordered.

Jarod swiftly kissed Parker on the mouth before straightening his posture, facing Moriyama and holding up his hands. Soon Moriyama was joined by two other sweepers, both pointing their 9mm automatics at Jarod.

"What should we do now? We have the one guy the Centre has been searching for the past 7 years right in front of us," said Doyle the sweeper who had been embarrassed by falling into Jarod's grid-lock trap. Doyle glanced at Moriyama who hadn't responded to his comment, then continued, "If we return him as well as Hemmings, we'll return to the Centre as heroes. Mr. Raines would probably reward Miss Parker, who will probably turn around and reward us!" 

Still, Moriyama remained silent, his eyes moving from Jarod to Parker's sleeping face. Paul, the other sweeper standing with Moriyama looked to his boss, his weapon never wavering for a second before asking, "What do you want us to do?" 

"Doyle, go outside and replace Mark in guarding the perimeter. Tell Mark to bring smelling salts and ammonia, anything used to wake someone who has been drugged," Moriyama ordered quietly. Doyle was about to protest but thought better of it. He had been with Parker for a number of years and used to be part of Sam's team. When Moriyama forced his way into Parker's team, it took him less than 4 months before he was part of Miss Parker's inner circle and private bodyguard. That was a feat that took Sam 2 _years _to accomplish. Moriyama wasn't a person to cross and Doyle was quick to realize this. Swiftly holstering his weapon, Doyle turned and left to follow his orders. 

Mark Huang, entered the bedroom and quickly walked over to his boss. He was the slender, quick-witted looking sweeper who almost shot the Pretender in the warehouse. Mark gently slapped her face but couldn't seem to rouse her. Retrieving a small med kit, he withdrew a small vial and slowly waved it under Parker's nose hoping to get a look at a pair of fiercely intelligent gray eyes.

**__**

Author's note: In Japanese, the word "Oyabun" means "Boss". The Oyabun, the undisputed leader, has power and authority over all his subordinates, including his "Kobun" or soldiers.


	11. Another Joint Venture

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Disclaimer: Details are in Chapter 1.

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Joint Venture

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Chapter XI

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By Callisto

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Jarod's Lair 

****

Red Cliff, CO

"I was imprisoned by the Centre most of my life and I must say none of you are acting much like the usual Centre sweeper," Jarod said to Moriyama. He was hoping to get a clue as to what the sweeper's next move would be but Moriyama remained inscrutable. 

"The Centre produces two types of sweeper; those who work for the Centre and those who have a boss," Mark replied easily. "We're Team 2, Miss Parker's personal squad. Team 1 is headed by Sam and Team 3 is headed up by Lucien, both who work for the Centre with Miss Parker as an executive director. It may seem like semantics to the uninitiated but it is an important distinction which determines who we will work for or with."

Jarod had already partially arrived at this conclusion, Mark's brief explanation added flavor to the dry details contained in the sweepers personnel files. Moriyama returned Jarod's stare calmly, his eyes never leaving the Pretender's face for a second. With slow deliberation, Parker's eyes fluttered open as she regained a groggy consciousness. Everyone in the room remained silent as they watched the lone woman in the room look around in confusion. When her eyes finally settled on Jarod, it was as though a sudden memory slammed into place forcefully. Her brows furrowed and an angry expression sprang eagerly in her eyes.

A sinking feeling invaded Jarod's heart at the look in his lover's eyes. His plan was only halfway completed and although he had anticipated this reaction from her, he had still hoped that his motives would have become clear to her, thus acquitting him of any undue blame. Never a pessimist, he returned her stare composedly and waited with his usual patience for a time to explain himself to her.

"He kidnapped me," Parker said thickly, her voice still affected by the deep sleep the chloroform had imposed on her. 

"_Hai_, _Oyabun_. We followed him here and are now awaiting your orders. Are you injured in any other way?" 

Parker took a second for self evaluation, then slowly shook her head once in the negative. "What's the situation? Do we still have Hemmings? Was the package found?" 

"_Hai, Oyabun_. I checked in with Sam, they arrived at the rendezvous point almost 20 minutes ago. Team 3 found the package along with all of the scientist's paperwork, then met up with Sam's team shortly afterward. I told Sam that we ran into a slight glitch and to leave for the Centre without us--explaining that we would catch up to them later," Moriyama clarified immediately. 

"Good. This 'glitch' is over, call the Centre and have another jet come and get us," Parker ordered crisply. She wasn't happy about what happened, even less so with her bodyguard, though she knew it wasn't entirely his fault. Jarod had pulled slicker moves on her in the past. The room remained silent, a sign to Parker that something was wrong. Her teams always followed her orders immediately--always. Looking up, she noticed Moriyama still had his weapon pointed at Jarod. A quick lift of her eyebrows conveyed her question to the sweeper. 

Mark answered for Moriyama, who by the look of it missed Parker's non-verbal question. "_Oyabun_, what do you want done with him?" Mark asked nodding in Jarod's direction. 

Slowly, Parker came to her feet with Mark standing close, ready to assist or catch her if necessary. Without her fashionable heels, Mark was the same height as Parker, but with heels on, she had a few inches on him--in testy attitude she dwarfed everyone in the room. As a result, Mark used his body to provide protection from an unarmed Jarod who was trying not to smile at the caution being exercised by Parker's sweepers. 

Parker frowned faintly at Mark's behavior, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder she relaxed against the wall and said with weariness, "Let him go. He's not coming with us." 

"Ma'am? He kidnapped you and the whole incident was recorded by Team 3, we can't return without him," Mark stated quietly.

A sudden and sharp anger flared hotly in Parker's eyes. Fortunately for Mark, he had his back to her or he would have been deeply embarrassed by engendering this emotion in his boss. Before Parker could fully express her displeasure, Moriyama spoke up. 

"You order us to let him go, however Mark is right we can not return. It is the alternative which causes me to pause, _Oyabun_." 

"What are you talking about? What's going on?" Parker asked, upset that she had apparently been left out of the loop.   


Giving Mark a significant glare, Moriyama nodded once for the other sweeper to start speaking. Parker saw the silent exchange and grew impatient. "Now, damn it!" she practically yelled.

"_Oyabun_, I found out some information that you should know," Mark started uncertainly. At Moriyama's additional nod, Mark continued,   
"The reason I was late getting on the jet is because I had accidentally overheard two high level executives discussing something of a confidential nature."

Each non-explanatory word caused Parker to wake up a bit faster but unfortunately for Mark, caused her irritation to rise as well. Roughly pushing the sweeper away, Parker glared at him and Moriyama unhappily. "The reason you were late was because you were loafing around as usual." 

"He was awoken by a conversation about you between your brother, Mr. Lyle and Mr. Royce, the Director's assistant. Apparently Mr. Lyle has made some preemptive arrangements regarding your future which he has failed to share. I suspect that he will act on his plans when we return," Moriyama explained to his boss. 

"What were they planning?" Parker asked with a feeling of dread.

"Mr. Lyle has been given the authorization to have you drugged and removed to the Renewal Wing, where you are supposed to undergo 'psychological restructuring'. Part of the treatment included giving you a series of psychotropic drugs which would leave you compliant and suppress any moral inhibitions. Lyle was assuring Royce that should he continue to support Lyle's bid to replace you as Executive Operations Director, he would make sure Royce would be allowed to do what he pleased with you for an evening and with the help of the drug. A generous fee would be paid to Mr. Lyle for this privilege. From what I could gather, a mate had already been chosen for you by Mr. Raines and with the proper psychological training and maintenance, you would perform and serve the Centre according to _his _specific directives," Mark answered. As he started the story, his anger at his own powerlessness to protect her from the plot, left his mouth dry and with the unfulfilled desire to hit someone. The room was silent while Jarod and the sweepers watched Parker reconsider her current options. 

"So, returning me to the fold would be a waste of time. Raines and Lyle will still go ahead with their plans whether you bring me back there or not. Why not do as she asks and let me go?" Jarod inquired of Moriyama who was still aiming his weapon squarely at the Pretender's head. 

"You've been used most of your life. When you let me see your true nature, I saw an opportunity and decided to join the bandwagon and use you myself," Moriyama answered tersely, purposely trying to irk Jarod. 

The neutral look slipped off Jarod's face as he gave Moriyama a hard, livid stare. Both Parker and Mark saw the abrupt change in Jarod. In response Parker smoothly intervened, "No one is using anyone. Jarod is free to go and I'll deal with this situation on my own. Mark, I need you to get Team 2's families out of harm's way. Take them all to the safe house and keep them there until I'm finished dealing with this situation. Have Doyle help you as well, there's only a two hour window before Raines views that tape." 

Mark listened carefully, then bowed slightly and left to carry out her instructions. Once he had left the room, Parker turned to see Moriyama and Jarod still sizing each other up. With a firm voice she interrupted their staring contest. "Moriyama, you should have told me about this plan of Lyle's before hand." 

"Lyle was cautious, always watching. If I had told you before now, he would have detected a change in you and altered his plans accordingly. However, for you to return to the Centre now would be problematic."

"So this is the reason you allowed Jarod to kidnap me?" Parker asked Moriyama with deadly calmness. 

"_Hai, Oyabun_. With both the Chairman and his son aligned against you, I would have been unable to insure your safety. I suspected the seriousness of your relationship and his possessiveness over you would inspire him to try something, the boldness of it was the only surprise."

"Leave us alone for a few minutes," Parker demanded shortly. Only the tiniest of pauses delayed Moriyama as he bowed deeply and quickly left along with the sweeper Paul. 

The room remained quiet for several seconds, Jarod watched Parker warily wondering exactly how angry she still was. She kept her breathing even and slow, endeavoring to keep her temper in check. The urge to walk over to Jarod and slap him into next week was almost overpowering. 

"I didn't want a repeat of the past and I've never heard of a one-weekend stand. I've been offered one-night stands and even tried it on occasion but that's not what I'm interested in from you." 

"I don't give a damn what your are or not interested in, you must have lost your mind. Our relationship will be whatever I say it'll be and all the kidnapping in the world won't change that. God, I was actually visualizing you sneaking into my house for a late night's erotic tryst. Somewhere there's a petulant, fickle deity waiting in the wings to make sure I'm the proud owner of nothing but failed, doomed and damned romance," Parker ranted sarcastically. 

Jarod stared at her back as she sat on the bed and refused to look at him. He was tempted to duck into the bathroom and repeat drugging her but knew she would be beside herself with rage once she awoke in the lair he had carefully planned for them. There were still numerous details he had to work out for their final disappearance, one of which was notifying his overly patient family. Everything in his gut told him that hanging on to her was the right thing for both of them but getting her to see that would take some work.

A spark of hope glimmered brightly as her words sank into his mind, 'she was _hoping _I would break into her house to make love to her?' Apparently, Teddy's little book on subconscious suggestions actually worked--just not in the way he had expected. Her admitting to a desire which included him was highly unusual and deeply imbedded in her subconscious. Forcefully smothering a lecherously delighted grin, Jarod said solemnly, "Moriyama is right, returning to the Centre for you is out of the question. So, why not use the exit strategy that I planned for you?"

"Which was?" 

"At this stage, I had planned on telling you what was going on and why. Then we were supposed to drive to the border, switching cars often and using several pseudonyms. Once over the border, we would board a flight to our destination." 

"And after that? What am I supposed to do with myself? I've spent all of my life in, around or working for the Centre," Parker said with a tendril of apprehension in her voice.

"You'll have the time and freedom to figure that part out on your own, without anyone pressuring or blackmailing you into doing something against your will," Jarod reasoned evenly. He had already thought of a solution to her dilemma. The ease and extreme distaste of becoming bored would eventually lead her down a destructive path that would alert the Centre and it's minions to her location. As far as he was concerned, it would never happen. He would take great care and pleasure in distracting her and keeping her busy.

"And you? Where will you be, what would you be doing? Running around the world doing pretends and saving the masses from the intrigues dreamt up by Raines?" 

"I had planned on being with you, being there for you during this transition," Jarod answered soothingly as he gingerly sat next to her on the bed. Easing in a deep breath, Jarod decided on being up front with her, it would be an example of how their relationship would progress, if they could maintain the one they had. "I want you. I know now that you're what I need. Consider this the most reasonable solution I've found to our mutual loneliness." 

Parker looked into his eyes as he made this admission and saw that the truth was there, laid bare for her to see. A weight seemed lifted from her at the thought of him being there for her yet again. She knew if she spent any more exclusive time with Jarod that she would be unable to send him away. Without warning, she turned back to Jarod's anxious face and swiftly kissed him and deepened the kiss with unbridled passion. As abruptly as she started it, she ended the kiss, leaving the Pretender hanging with puckered lips. 

"You have no idea how tempting that sounds but I've people who depend on me," she said firmly. Parker stood up and started slowly pacing. "You go ahead, I'll have to think my way around Lyle and Raines. It's not the first time and from the way things look, it won't be the last." 

"I spoke with Sydney right after finding you at Hemmings abandoned lair. He told me about some of the threats Raines was using to keep you in line. There is a way for Broots and his daughter to get away without being harmed," Jarod said convincingly.

Slowly shaking her head, Parker replied, "No. Broots is nervous enough as it is. A life on the run would rattle his cage beyond recognition. He would probably suffer from either a nervous breakdown or heart attack within 6 months. I don't have any other choice but to go back. Believe me the thought of returning turns my stomach." 

"Lyle _sold _you to a subordinate in order to get his support for a corporate takeover," Jarod stated with unbridled anger. Parker glanced at him and saw the deeply offended and disgusted look in Jarod's face. She noted the expression in her lover's face and knew if given the chance Jarod would have thought up something truly inventive to punish Lyle. He would have to wait his turn, her brother would have to sample her particular brand of revenge first.

"I already have an idea on how to reward brother-dearest for this latest betrayal. I have three sweeper teams and two cleaner teams at my disposal. When I get back, he's going to wish that he had never been born," Parker responded.

With a sinking feeling, Jarod realized she was determined on returning to the Centre. His plans had been put on hold but this wasn't a contingency he hadn't already considered. Looking up, he stared at her and asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"Having his ass tossed in jail seems to be a pleasant way to start the festivities. That should give me some time to thoroughly undermine everything he managed to set up for my visit to the Renewal Wing." 

A sly smile slowly creased Jarod's features as he looked at her suggestively, then said, "I have an idea. Something that would serve the both of us. Better yet, it'll be at Lyle's expense." He gave her a quick outline of his idea.

Parker returned Jarod's smile with a slow nod of agreement. Sometimes having a genius for a friend and lover was extremely beneficial. "With a few modifications, I believe your idea has brilliant possibilities. This little joint venture is turning out to be far more productive then merely catching _one _maniac." 


	12. Home movies and impromptu gardening

**__**

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer details.

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Author's note: Unless otherwise noted, all action in this story is progressive, in that it is occurring in sequence.

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Joint Venture

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Chapter XII

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By Callisto

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**__**

The Centre

Blue Cove, DE

They were gathered in the debriefing room in the heart of the Centre. On sub-level 3, Raines, Lyle, Sydney and Broots were all in attendance while the team the debriefing had been designed for were excluded. Team 3 Commander Lucien played the tape of Hemmings' capture for the second time. The attendees were all shocked and stunned though in widely varying degrees. After the video played out to the end, Lucien turned on the lights and quietly waited for further instructions. The room remained silent for several minutes while everyone gathered their thoughts about what they had just witnessed.

Lyle was very angry. His twin had found her target, Hemmings, in record time and managed to use Jarod to facilitate her search as well. Instead of bringing him back in chains, she allowed him to go free, obviously to spite her twin. As a result, she let down her guard and was promptly kidnapped. All Lyle's hard work in arranging for his sister to undergo the specially formulated brain washing designed to make her more malleable and useful had gone for naught. This left Lyle empty handed, Jarod free and Parker was the reason behind all of it. Being unable to vent his anger at her left a less than subtle residue of violence in his attitude. His frustration was such that the need to hurt another was becoming unmanageable. The only cure to regain complete control would be to find an unsuspecting victim. His decision made, a subtle calm spread over him like a warm wash. If this whole deal could turn into a bigger disaster, Lyle didn't want to be around to find out. His eyes turned to Raines and waited for the older man's reaction.

Sydney had watched in silence and like the others remained quiet. Leaning back in his chair, he mentally reviewed his prior telephone conversation with Jarod, when he had enlisted his protégé in helping Miss Parker. It was highly probable that there were some drastic changes occurring in their relationship. On the one hand, Jarod _could _have been referring to Parker. On the other hand, there was the possibility he had been speaking of someone else entirely. If the latter, perhaps Jarod kidnapped her in order to get her to listen to him. Sydney occasionally had been tempted in taking similarly drastic measures when Parker stubbornly refused to listen to reason. However, if it was the former, a cup of tea and some solitude to think this through was in order. 

Broots was as confused as Sydney and thought Jarod must be out of his mind. Parker had put up quite a fight and her guards had Jarod surrounded immediately. It was obvious that Jarod was a part of this Colorado Task force and had joined in the search for Hemmings. Why Jarod felt it necessary to kidnap Parker had him puzzled. Ransom would be ridiculous, revenge futile, exchange for information about his family, unlikely but could only be the most likely motive. Broots had seen Moriyama, he definitely wouldn't want that guy hunting him down. Besides, Broots wouldn't want to deal with Miss Parker once she gained consciousness. She would be like a tigress but uncommonly beautiful, all Broots would've asked for is a picture to keep. 

Raines was extremely angry. Parker had delivered on her promise to find and return Hemmings. Instead of returning along with him, she managed to get kidnapped by an obviously disturbed pretender. Raines had reached for a more compliant executive who wouldn't insist on negotiating whenever he wanted her to act outside of the boundaries of her position, now all he had was an explosive problem with the potential of exacerbating on the same level as her mother Catherine. Parker still had her uses and he would not be denied access to her or her gifts. Like a malevolent toddler, Raines petulantly wanted his executive back and for that reason he stood creakily, then turned and looked at the assembled pursuit team and said with breathy menace, "Find her. I will not accept excuses or delays. Petty jealousies won't be tolerated. I will be advised of any contact with Jarod." Taking a deep breath from his portable oxygen supply, he continued, "The clock is ticking Mr. Lyle, I suggest you contact Miss Parker's bodyguards and obtain an update from them within the hour."

Raines stormed out of the room, leaving the pursuit team behind. Sydney sighed and looking significantly at Broots, he stood and turned to Lyle, "I'll be checking my machine for any messages from Jarod and correlating his previous patterns to see if we can figure out where he's holding Miss Parker." 

Broots, catching on to Sydney's signal, also stood and stated, "I'll start by putting a tap on all our phones, in case Jarod calls." 

"Go through the files, Broots. I want to know every habit Miss Parker possesses down to the last detail. I want to know everything from her favorite brand of perfume to her favorite soft drink. I smell a rat and I think Sis is playing us all for fools," Lyle stated quietly. He followed his so-called father out of the room, knowing the odds of them actually tracking his sibling down was slim to none. 

Sydney, who had a good idea what Lyle was thinking paused until the sociopath had left the room. He too doubted that they would ever see Miss Parker again. The strange and deeply repressed relationship Jarod shared with Parker had somehow come to the surface and he suspected the two were allowing their mutual curiosity and attraction to direct their personal exploration of each other. Sydney was slowly coming to terms with the fact that the person Jarod had referred to in their telephone conversation was Parker and the Pretender had succeeded in squeezing through the armor she used to protect herself. He watched Lyle carefully, then not bothering to suppress a light chuckle, he followed the sociopath with Broots on his heels. 

Lucien watched the group slowly file out of the room with satisfaction. He realized none of them noticed the skillful edits he had made to the tape. Viewing the tape on the return flight to the Centre, the Strike Force commander made the modifications without any assistance, effectively erasing any references Miss Parker had made to her and Jarod's relationship. It was no one's business what Miss Parker did on her off hours. Besides anything Parker did was alright with Lucien and he had already made sure his entire team would keep their mouths shut as well.

Lucien was packing up the video equipment when his cell phone vibrated in his chest pocket. Retrieving the small device, the commander listened, grunted his agreement then ended the call by closing the phone. A large smile creased his craggy face as he thought, 'Ahh, planting a little evidence is a great way to start the day. Let the games begin.'

**__**

Off Route 5

Fairmont, DE 

Hours later, a nervous-looking man sat uncertainly in his dark blue Volvo sedan and stared out at the frigid expanse of woods. Snow covered everything in sight and the dark skeletal remains of the trees stood in stark contrast like silent sentinels. The waiting had become tedious and his nerves were in a state. Cars occasionally sped by but no one stopped. Finally a set of headlights turned off the main highway and slowly cruised down the snow covered road. Royce turned eagerly in his seat to find the black, imposing Lincoln Town Car pass his vehicle then swerve into a U-turn and park behind his Volvo. A few seconds later, a gloved hand rapped smartly on the passenger-side window and Royce unlocked the door, admitting his guest to share in the overly warm interior.

Lyle settled comfortably in the passenger seat and looked out through the windshield without saying a word. The silence worked on the already anxious man's nerves prompting him to comment, "Rumor has it that Miss Parker was kidnapped by Jarod, is that true?"

"Your contacts are excellent. Yes it does appear that Jarod has her, they must have worked this out together. Though it does seem strange that she went ahead and sent Hemmings back anyway. With a little imagination, she could have made a bundle off his finished product."

"In that case, you no longer need anyone's support. Mr. Raines has only you from his family to assist him in running the Centre. You must be happy," Royce stated bitterly. He had been looking forward to the promised alone time with Miss Parker. She had always treated him like a misplaced detail and took pleasure in ignoring or when she did notice him--denigrating him. 

Lyle heard the tone in Royce's voice and turned to look at the woefully pedantic, greedy and arrogant lackey. He smiled at Royce's snappish anger and replied, "No more happy than you are, though I'm sure my motives are very different than yours. We still can be of use to each other, this development is something none of us were expecting. What we both need to do is stay calm and keep our eyes and ears open. Opportunities exist for those with the imagination to take advantage of them." He was about to continue when another vehicle joined them on the deserted road. Both men stared at the uninvited visitor whose vehicle creeped slowly towards them then suddenly swerved in front of the Volvo while a set of rotating police cruiser lights splashed color from behind them.

"What the hell is this?" Lyle asked calmly.

Armed troopers exited their cruisers with guns drawn. Turning in his seat Lyle saw a pair of troopers approach from behind the car in the same manner. The sound of a barking dog was nearby as more troopers joined the scene.

"Get out of the car with your hands up," a loud voice demanded through a loudspeaker.

Royce turned to Lyle questioningly, his eyes wide with confused fear. "What should we do?" 

"Get out of the car with our hands up," Lyle answered sarcastically, opening the car door and obeying the trooper's demands. Once the two men had been searched for weapons and handcuffed, Lyle asked with aggravated calmness, "What is this all about? We haven't done anything." 

"Sir, whose car is that?" a stone faced trooper asked, ignoring Lyle's question. 

"Why do you ask?" Lyle countered quickly. 

"The hood is warm and parked directly behind this vehicle. The Volvo is registered to your friend here, so I suspect the car belongs to you. Save yourself some time answer the question." 

Lyle considered the statement then answered truthfully, knowing that he had touched the interior with his bare hands, "It's mine. So what's the problem?" 

Another trooper had opened the trunk of the Lincoln Town Car and shouted back at his fellow troopers, "It's here. We've found it." 

Turning to Lyle, the ranking trooper said grimly, "You're both under arrest. The charge is bio-terrorism and conspiracy to commit treason."

Lyle listened in disbelief to the charges and watched in horror as the troopers retrieved a Halliburton with interior foam padding protecting two large vials full of a white liquid from the trunk of the Town Car. Instantly he knew what was contained in the vials and where they had come from. The only answer could be Miss Parker. Those vials contained the compound Hemmings was being paid to develop which killed several people in Colorado. Somehow she had found out about the plot he had devised against her and this was her revenge. Lyle glanced around searching and found what he was looking for; partially hidden behind a tree, a lone man watched the action with interest. What caught Lyle's eye was the ominous air that surrounded the man. With little doubt the sociopath was certain he was a sweeper, probably one from Parker's team. 

Lyle continued to stare at the sweeper as he was led away. An incongruous smile was on his lips as he was forced into the back seat of the cruiser. He was determined to convey a message to this twin that this wasn't over by a long shot. 

The mysterious stranger watched the show without emotion. He caught the message Lyle was trying to send. Lucien's team had done their jobs well. Once Lyle and Royce were secured in the back seats of separate cruisers, the stranger slowly turned and disappeared down the main highway. Once he got back to his vehicle, the man turned on his cell phone and spoke quietly, supplying his contact with everything he had witnessed. At the conclusion of the conversation the man started up a Town Car that was a duplicate to Lyle's and headed back to the Centre. His anonymous tip to the State police had led to the Sociopath's capture and that was something the sweeper name Paul was only happy to do. Lyle had tried to use him against his boss Miss Parker. It had been Paul who had informed her of the bugging devices placed in each Town Car in Colorado and whom Lyle relied upon to make sure the recorded discs were returned to the Centre. Today, he had just proven his loyalty to his supervisor, Moriyama. Mr. Lyle would be most unhappy by the unexpected wrinkle Miss Parker had thrown in for good measure. 


	13. Returning

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for details.

****

Joint Venture

Chapter XIII

By Callisto

**__**

The Center

Blue Cove, DE

The air outside the Centre was bitingly frigid while inside a deceptive atmosphere of calm permeated everything and everyone. The employees continued on with business as usual, unaware of the unusual controversy swirling within the executive suites. Word had leaked from an inside source at the State Department that Mr. Lyle was now a resident of the federal penal system with every indication this arrangement was at the least long term, the worst--permanent. This unforeseen event caught his counterparts within the monolithic corporation by surprise but failed to dredge up sympathy in anyone. It was mid-morning when the rumor of Miss Parker's abduction began its widespread circulation throughout all levels of the imposing corporation. Therefore her sudden appearance had a shock value that was able to get through the hardest and most cynical of employees. When Miss Parker made her dramatic entrance in the main mezzanine of the Centre she was resplendent in a long brown leather coat, matching short skirt and brilliant dark green silk shirt. Those standing nearby stared with open admiration and followed her with their eyes as she immediately proceeded towards the Tower where the daily executive meetings were held. Trailing behind her were Moriyama and Doyle, both busy scanning the crowd around them as they followed their boss through to the Tower. Parker's guards finally left her side once she entered the boardroom. Her executive-level counterparts were assembled around the table and turned to watch the newcomer.

The Director looked at Miss Parker and stood to greet her. The dark-complexioned, elegantly authoritative woman was the same Director whom 7 years ago had ordered Parker to take on Mr. Broots as a technical advisor. The tables had been turned and Parker was now the Director's immediate supervisor. Given the younger woman's lineage and proven abilities, the leap in responsibility wasn't surprising. "Miss Parker, there was an unsubstantiated rumor that you had been kidnapped by the renegade pretender, Jarod. On behalf of the entire board, I would like to express our relief that the rumors have been proven false."

"Madam, Director," Parker acknowledged with a faint nod towards her subordinate. "It's good to be here again," she lied smoothly. "It has come to my attention that a conspiracy against me has been hatched. Let me be clear; I have squelched it and dealt with the culprits. One of whom just happened to be your assistant," she stated grimly to the Director allowing a distinct expression of condescending disdain to touch her features. "Apparently he felt assured that his influence over not only you but other members of this board was sufficient to gather enough votes to have me replaced. I don't give a damn what any of you think of me. What I do care about are the steps you might take to express those opinions. Rest assured that I am capable of as ruthless as necessary to discourage dissent. Mr. Lyle could attest to this, but unfortunately he's otherwise occupied. It is vitally important that this board stay independent from the pressures and corruption of the Chairman and his staff. To that end, I will focus my attention to insure nothing like this conspiracy ever occurs again. Naturally this development indicates that a fundamental flaw exists, not just within the Director's staff but within all of our supporting staff. Ladies and gentlemen it's about time we cleaned house," Parker continued coldly allowing her gaze to settle on each of the twelve executives sitting at the massive table. "Let's get down to business." 

It had been an incredibly long day. After heading up the meeting in the Tower and explaining to the Director that she would be assigned a new assistant since her previous one would be thrown to the wolves in Colorado, Parker had to confront Raines. She walked purposefully into the Chairman's office, much in the same way she was used to doing when her 'father' had been alive. Raines was seated behind his battleship-sized desk and looked up as Parker approached. The old man's eyes glittered evilly like a cat staring at an unoffending mouse. She noticed his expression but outwardly ignored it. Parker stopped short of his desk and returned the Chairman's stare with a half smirk on her lips.

"'The plans of mice and vile old men often go astray.' If you want to rescue your little pet, I suggest you get on the phone with the Secretary and try to pull in a favor. Last I heard, Igor was on his way to Leavenworth and that definitely ain't club Fed but it could've been worse, I hear Gitmo is positively miserable. Apparently Lyle's being held on suspicion of engaging in terrorist acts against the government and its people." 

"Your attempt at humor is irritating, Miss Parker. According to the tape of your capture, you were working with Jarod and failed to apprehend him. This is a serious breach in protocol," breathed the angry Chairman.

"Go figure. Your wayward researcher has been returned ahead of schedule. The compound he was working on has been recovered, minus a vial or two. I've signed a voucher for the two vials I borrowed," Parker responded. At the slight widening of his eyes, which she took as an indication that he thought she had made a mistake, Parker continued, "Not to worry. The two vials in police custody are from Hemmings' earlier trials, the rest of the stuff I brought back has been duly destroyed by order of the Triumvirate. The Colorado authorities were happy to get some evidence and deeply appreciate the useless bone thrown to them." 

"They should never have known what was going on. Your handling of this operation was unnecessarily sloppy and has left us dangerously exposed. Our agreement will have to be modified. Effective immediately, you are back on the Jarod pursuit," Raines answered with a note of triumph. "Since you were able to find him so easily once, for your sake, you had better find him quickly a second time." 

Rage sparked raw and fresh in her face. "Our original agreement is still in play, Hemmings was brought back and under the timeline I was given. There was never any mention of limitations on my methods," Parker protested with controlled wrath.

"We'll see how the Triumvirate views your streak of independence once they watch the tape your teams brought back. I suspect they will be less than understanding of you allowing Jarod to slip through your fingers. With Jarod on the scene, Hemmings immediately became a secondary issue," Raines replied smugly. 

Hatred shined brightly in her eyes as she answered the man who tried to instill fear in her as he once had at the start of the Jarod pursuit. Parker was determined that he should understand that period had long since passed. "I used the methods necessary to keep the Centre from becoming front page news. That tape should also reveal that Hemmings had in his possession all the supporting documentation of not only Centre involvement but Triumvirate complicity as well. Names, dates and signatures were all included. And any commentary from you will be accompanied by an audio tape from me of our original conversation in which you informed me of what the target was and what to look for. Funny how you skipped the part about what Hemmings was up to in attempting to weaponize the toxin and that he had also cleaned out his own files. If I hadn't told my teams to box up everything that monster possessed we would be arguing about this through gray bars. Jarod was a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less." 

Raines sat back in his seat and watched the control Parker exercised over herself. Objectively he knew that without this restraint, he would now be dead. Raines allowed several seconds to pass before answering, secretly a slimy tendril of fear crawled lazily up his spine. Though chagrined at her effective countermeasures, her maneuvering would keep him at bay---for the time being. "Normally you would be right; however, since you got rid of your brother who was heading up the pursuit, you will have to replace him."

"Sydney will continue alone on the pursuit until you figure out a way to spring Igor from the pokey. It's just too damn bad for Lyle that you don't have the same contacts as our previous father but then that's the way the psycho drools. I'm going back to my other duties and there will be no more pursuits for me," Parker answered definitively. She turned and started for the door. After a few steps, she gracefully pivoted around in her 3" heels and said, "Oh, and that's by order of the Tower." Parker then resumed her trek to the door.

Raines watched her leave the room with none of the admiration her father would have felt. If it were within his power, he would have her undergoing the primary phases of reprogramming within the hour. As it was, she now enjoyed the protection of the Tower who oversaw the commanded structure of the Centre and reported directly to the Triumvirate. The old Oppressor sat back in his large desk chair and plotted his revenge. He was determined that by the time he was done, Miss Parker would be more used than a communal lavatory and no more beautiful than a scarred broken shell she should long been made into. His macabre thoughts of revenge slowly turned to the compound Hemmings had finally developed. With the raw data Parker had recovered and some help from one of the remaining pretenders, Raines was certain he could develop something far superior and deadly to the evil Hemmings so haphazardly concocted.

Several hours later and after a stiff drink from her private stash, Parker found herself rubbing her aching temples and staring through the window of her office distractedly. She heard a timid sounding knock at her door and with out turning around she called out for the visitor to enter. Moriyama was in the anteroom and would have warned her if it were someone who posed even the slightest threat. 

"H-hello? Miss Parker?" Broots' nervous voice asked uncertainly. To Parker's ears his voice was a welcome sound and she swiveled her seat around to get a look at her anxious friend. "Broots, what are you doing here? It's after hours, don't you have a daughter to go home to?"

"I'm here to see how're you doing. We were worried, Sydney and me, about your safety. Being your associates for so long, we were forced to view the tape several times before Mr. Raines was satisfied." 

"I'm fine Broots. Never better," was the bitter reply. 

"We saw what happened. I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. I would've never guessed that Jarod would turn on you the way he did. Are you hurt, is there anything I can get for you?" 

"Jarod would never hurt me physically, Broots. If you have a salve for bruised pride, bring it on. As it is, you had better leave this caged animal alone, I feel like biting." 

Broots stared at her silently for several seconds. When his eyes met hers, she could see the concern and caring he felt for her. Parker gave him a weak smile. The computer genius nodded seriously, then left her alone in peace.

A few days later she received a visit from the other member of her former pursuit team. Sydney came into her office and studied her for several seconds without saying a word. Parker looked up from her work and stared back at him. Finally his silence began to irritate her, prompting her to ask, "You have something on your mind, Freud. Spit it out, I don't have all day. Having you stand there staring through me is working my nerves."

"Miss Parker, I realize you're extremely busy however as a psychiatrist and your friend, I believe you need to take a break. Call it a mental health break. The last few days have been trying at best and there are a few things I would like to discuss with you in private," the psychiatrist said in his softly melodic Flemish accent.

Parker was about to refuse outright, when she suddenly thought better of it. The pressure of the past few days had worn her down severely and the last time she got a good night's sleep had been in Jarod's arms. She pushed herself away from the paper-strewn desk, determined to indeed take a break and avoid the usual mental masturbation Sydney often attempted to get her to try. Nodding she got up and approached Sydney who reached out and took her overcoat off the rack. She was surprised at this but assumed whatever the old guy had to say, he didn't want any uninvited ears listening. 

**__**

Romi's Café

Blue Cove, DE

Sydney drove them to the café in silence. Neither spoke a word as he left the looming shadow of the corporation they had dedicated most of their lives to willingly if not unhappily. Once they ordered and sat in a corner booth, the psychiatrist seemed ready to talk. Before he uttered his first words, Parker held up a gloved hand and retrieved a small device from her coat pocket and sat it on the seat between them and out of casual view. "I don't know about you, but I hate it when others eavesdrop. What's on your mind, Syd?"

"I received a call from Jarod while you were away on assignment. The details of the conversation aren't important except in retrospect and after viewing the tape of your kidnapping, there are several questions that spring readily to mind." 

"Really? And what makes you think I have the answers to these questions or will even feel like sharing if I had them? First off, I have no idea what was going through Genius' mind when he tried to kidnap me. He was out of his mind thinking he could get away with it." 

"Ah, but he did get away with it, didn't he? You didn't bring him back with you. Raines must have been beside himself with rage when he spoke with you about it. No, what's confusing me is that Jarod indicated that he had found something that had been eluding him ever since he escaped the Centre." 

"Too bad. I would've preferred he keep searching for whatever he's looking for just as we've been searching for his sorry ass," Parker interrupted caustically. 

Undeterred, Sydney continued, "He was very positive and upbeat when we spoke."

"Bully for him. Look, Freud, I realize Wonder-Genius is your main focus in life, but he isn't mine…" Parker began. 

Before she could continue, Sydney interrupted with, "Perhaps he should be. You have so few people in your life. You're a beautiful, vibrant woman with so much to give. It's time you found someone to share your life with." Holding up his hand to stem the onslaught of sarcastic come backs and clever repartee, Sydney continued, "The fact he kidnapped you suggests you were the find that he wanted. I had hoped that afterwards we would never see you at the Centre again."

"It's more complicated than you know, Syd," Parker answered solemnly. 

"It's only complicated if you allow it to be. You have a chance to leave this place, this life--take it while you still can. Before it's too late for you as it is for me. I'm hoping not to see what happened to your mother, happen to you," Sydney stated earnestly. 

His reference to her mother made Parker pause. There was no need to explain her changing relationship with Jarod. Instead she considered her friend's words carefully and spent the rest of the time sipping her hot coffee and enjoying some non-confrontational time with an old friend. 


	14. Closure

**__**

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.

**

Joint Venture

**

**

Chapter XIV

**

**By Callisto**

**__**

Parker residence 

Blue Cove, DE

The past month had been beyond challenging. It had taken a strongly suggestive meeting bordering on the threatening from the combined Tower executive body along with the Triumvirate on speaker phone to put Raines securely in place. Even that had only partially stifled the deep seated ill-will that lingered in the old man's eyes. He backed off like a well-trained dog but Parker could tell that he had already planned his revenge and she would have to remain vigilant to avoid falling into one of his traps. The Tower itself was another hardship that demanded her vigilance. The group demanded more of her attention and attempted to use her in any way it could. Her ideas and innovations became the property of the body as a whole. Her abilities were on a scale they felt she had but scraped the surface of and continually prodded her to produce more creative and innovative ways for them to conduct business while claiming credit for her ideas. 

At the end of each day, Parker returned to her empty house. Moriyama fell in the habitual custom of having her wait just inside the doorway to her home while he checked the interior. The pervasive feeling of loneliness settled on her once again as the constant threat at work and a stifling emotional dearth began to atrophy her spirit. With weary languor Parker walked past her bodyguard and headed straight to her bath for few moments of relaxation. The bottom line was she had stopped caring about her survival but she was damned sure the old psycho who killed her mother would never have his chance to do the same to her.

Moriyama watched his boss walk listlessly by him with a sorrow deep in his heart. Once again his _Oyabun _was alone, isolated and with no one to care for her besides her personal bodyguards. He knew what would alleviate her loneliness but he didn't like the cure. Jarod was too cocky and too sure of himself. He related too easily with Parker and almost effortlessly eased himself into their lives and her bed. One day he would ask his treasured Oyabun about her past and the history of her relationship with the Pretender. The meager details he had overheard during their dinner conversation left him curious. Moriyama retreated to the kitchen and started to brew some tea. He was sitting at Parker's kitchen table sipping tea when a slight puff of breeze lightly stroked the back of his neck. He whirled around with his gun drawn and came face to face with Jarod. The Pretender stood just inside the doorway with a 9mm, primed and ready, pointed directly in Moriyama's face. The sweeper stared at Jarod before slowly lowering his weapon. Jarod walked over to the stove and immediately helped himself to a cup of tea.

"How is she?" 

"How do you expect? Raines is a formidable enemy. His threats are as real as is his unreasonable anger. There is little either Sydney or Broots can do that is of any help. She is alone." 

"I was afraid something like that would happen," Jarod replied thoughtfully. After a short pause he finally asked, "Why do you call her _Oyabun_?" 

"She saved my life, then provided me protection, all without causing me to lose face. She has an effortless intelligence that helps her run circles around the likes of Mr. Lyle and never breaks a sweat. My early life was dominated by the Yakuza but the _Oyabun _who ruled the family eventually lost his territory, and then his life. He was a hard man and many considered him brilliant. Miss Parker could've had him for breakfast and not have suffered a hair out of place. Unfortunately, everyone has their weaknesses, including _Oyabun _Parker. The fact that she is a woman is significant but of no consequence. I owe her everything." 

Jarod listened to Moriyama's words without interruption, then nodded quietly to himself. "I've come to make her an offer, one I'm hoping she won't refuse." 

Moriyama stared at the Pretender, knowing Jarod wanted to remove her from the Centre for good. The sweeper understood that he could protect her from harm for only so long before Raines found a way to kill them both. Moriyama gave Jarod a short nod of approval and returned to sipping his tea. 

The bath helped soothe Parker's frayed nerves. She was thoroughly fed up with the Centre, its intrigues, pressures and resident ogre of a chairman. The only reason she stayed was because she had nothing left to turn to or anyone in her life who cared about her in a way she could use as a reference point of continuing hope. All the secrets and lies left a bitter taste in her mouth. She was still interested in uncovering the mysteries but the more she learned of the Centre from her new position, the less she felt compelled to look under any more rocks.

Dressed in her dark silk pajamas, Parker brushed back her wet hair. Idly she considered going to her favorite salon to have it cut. A new style would perk her up for a few days. Laying down the brush, Parker walked slowly back into her bedroom. Hopes for getting a restful night's sleep were dim at best. She attributed her pessimistic attitude to her insomnia and considered for a brief moment to take the sleep aids her private physician had given her. She had her hand on the bedside nightstand when the hairs at the back of her neck stood on end. Without thinking she looked up to find a shadowy figure sitting on her window seat. 

"I must say, you look quite fetching in those pajamas, Miss Parker," remarked the deep, sardonic voice.

Forcibly, furrowing her brow to conceal the dizzying pleasure his voice caused, Parker retorted, "What the hell do you think you're doing? There are more bugs in this house than in an entomologist's lab. There's probably a streaming video of this conversation being played back in Raines' office as we speak." 

"Not quite. You see I once worked as an exterminator and I'm very adept at finding the little critters. I've been waiting for you. Which brings me to another subject; you spend far too much time at the Centre. Why don't you take more time off? Or are you just a glutton for punishment?" During this foray of questions, Jarod alighted from his perch and walked up to his lover. Reaching out, he touched her wet hair lightly, then tilting his head to one side he stared into her gray eyes. "You're letting it grow. It's beautiful." 

Finally the smile that had been threatening to expose her real feelings, showed itself in brilliant detail. The subtle lines of fatigue and worry melted away as she returned Jarod's stare. With a half chuckle she asked, "How do you always know what I'm thinking?" Before he could answer, Parker closed the remaining gap between them, wrapped her hand around the base of his neck and pulling him down towards her, kissed him passionately. The second he opened his mouth to her, she slipped her tongue inside. Slowly and erotically, she passed her tongue though his mouth as though gathering a memory.

Jarod was practically overwhelmed by their shared emotions. They had kissed numerous times and as a rule they mostly French kissed but the quality and emotion behind this touched his subconscious. Without knowing it, Jarod had one hand at the base of her spine while the other grasped her shoulder pressing her into his body. By the time she broke away, Jarod, who could hold his breath for over 2 minutes, had trouble controlling his breathing. It was like she was kissing him goodbye and he was having none of it. Swiftly and with practiced grace, he lifted the oversized silk pajama top off her body and started kissing her again. Parker happily gave into his tacit request and pushing him onto the bed they began making love.

Some time later, Parker rolled over and ran her hand caressingly over his muscular chest. She couldn't have imagined a more welcome visit. Jarod was just what the doctor would've ordered if he knew how she felt about him. Right now, Jarod represented a freedom she knew she could never obtain for herself. Instead of dwelling on her current misery, she refocused her attention on the beautiful male body lying next to her. She almost laughed at herself and her inability to keep her hands off her former prey. Careful not to jostle him, she eased her body closer to his and let her hand rest easily on his hip. 

"How are you? You don't seem as tense as you were after your bath," he asked her softly. The abrupt sound of his voice startled her; she had thought he was asleep.

"Don't get a big head about this, Genius. But right now, I'm very relaxed and satisfied. What made you show up? Is there something going on at the Centre I should know about?" she asked lazily as she surreptitiously breathed in his scent while her hand traced intricate patterns along his torso. 

"Yes and no. The main reason I'm here is to fulfill a fantasy someone told me about. Something about me sneaking into a certain bedroom for a late night tryst," he replied with a smile in his voice. 

"_I _told you that? I don't remember, when did I say that?" 

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm here and there are a few things I need to discuss with you," he responded, his tone brusquely switched from playful to serious. 

Parker rolled over onto her back and with a deep sigh asked, "This sounds serious, what is it?" 

"With Sydney's help, I've found a way to keep Raines from threatening either one of them again," Jarod began. Parker turned to stare at him disbelievingly. At the look on her face, he offered her a slight smile and continued, "It seems as though Raines had planned all along to skim 5% of the sale of Hemmings research into his own pocket. I found the first hint of that in a file I confiscated from Lyle's apartment safe. A bit more digging and some late night work from Sydney and Broots gave me what I was looking for--blackmail. By the way, what happened to Lyle? I haven't seen him in a while. He should've been released from jail by now."

A smug smile appeared on her face as she answered him, "I decided he needed more than just a few uncomfortable nights in jail. As far as his henchman, Royce, he will get a taste of what Hemmings was complaining about. I've used the power of the Center to strip that little weasel of everything he owns. He wanted to buy me, well I made sure he would find it difficult to buy a doughnut." 

"What did you do to Lyle?" Jarod asked his curiosity in full bloom. 

"I took copies of some of the paperwork my teams recovered from Hemmings' lair. Along with the 2 vials of toxin I had planted in his car, I included some evidence of Lyle's negotiations with the third world buyers. Your former colleagues are thrilled they have in custody a man whom they believe was Hemmings' accomplice. My serial killer, demented twin will be behind bars for a long time. From what I hear, he hasn't been allowed to see a lawyer and all of Raines' efforts are falling on election year deaf ears. If Lyle suddenly develops an yen for talking, the Triumvirate will deal with the situation." 

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I'm impressed, Miss Parker. Lyle behind bars and all the evidence supplied by the Centre, perfect. Actually, I was forced to use different methods with Raines. I had to use a threat to neutralize his threats." 

"You plan on blackmailing Raines? How long do you actually think it will last? I've been there and done that. It's hard keeping that the old snake from slithering away unscathed."

"Ah, my dear, you keep underestimating me. I promise you, he won't be threatening anyone you care about for the rest of his tenure," Jarod answered confidently. 

"So why are you telling me this? Being a Tower executive is hardly job security. Every time I walk into that boardroom you can cut the jealousy with a knife. If it wasn't Raines looking for revenge, then one of my colleagues would decide they could run the Tower without me," Parker said with weariness beyond her years.

"Come with me. Raines is at bay now, there's no need for you to stay. I want you and from what we just got finished doing, the feeling is mutual. I want to build something with you. A life, a real life without the Centre overshadowing us every way we turn."

"You still have your mother to find," Parker countered. "Before you can completely put the Centre behind you, you have to find her. It's what you've wanted all your life." 

Deftly changing tactics, Jarod answered slyly, "You once said I was always there for you. When you needed someone most, I was there. What I'm asking is for you to be there for me. We can look for my mother together." 

"My mother said it would be Ethan who would find your mother, not us." 

"Well, right now, I'm not too sure where Ethan is either and that's why I need you. There's a connection between you and Ethan. I'm convinced the minute you start actively looking for him, he'll know and come looking for you. Most importantly, I want us to give _us _a chance. That won't happen with monthly visits," Jarod replied. Then with a grin in his voice he added, "Besides, I think I getting a little greedy." He lifted her arm ran his hand down the length of it to her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. 

Removing her hand from his, Parker propped herself up on her elbow and started down at his face. "I can't imagine what your father's reaction will be once you tell him about me. He'll be less than thrilled at your choice of girlfriend." 

"Let me worry about that. I think Dad will be happy that I'm happy. Now, how Emily and Aiden will react, I'm not quite sure but I think they will take their cue from Dad." 

"Aiden and Emily? Who are they?" 

"My sister, the one Lyle tried to kill by shoving her out of a window and the boy you found at Donaterese. He took the name Aiden and is living with my sister. They're creating a family unit for Dad and me to touch base with during our search for my mother."

Parker grimaced disgustedly at the mention of Lyle's murder attempt on Jarod's family. If the Pretender didn't already have motivation to inflict serious harm on Lyle then this would've given him ample impetus. Given the various ways her family had inflicted pain on his family, Parker asked calmly, "And what if we don't work out?" 

"Then you're free to go where ever you wish," he answered. Then giving her a rakish smile he asked, "You really think our relationship won't last? Is that what _your _heart says?"

Returning his smile she commented, "I knew that compliment went to your head." Reaching under the covers that slipped down to his waist, Parker grasped him lightly. "It seems it went to your other head as well." She leaned over and kissed him. Jarod reached up and thrust his hand in her now dry hair and slowly rolled over and on top of her without breaking contact. After several seconds, Parker pulled away and looked with hesitant apprehension into his face, which was illuminated by the bright moonlight outside. "I want you." Her words were simple but her meaning was more complex. She wanted him in her life, in her heart as well as her bed. 

"I'm here and have no plans to be anywhere else but in your life, for keeps." Jarod had caught her deeper meaning and lowering his head started making love to her. 

Parker wondered idly how her bodyguard would manage to get along with her lover, while Jarod slowly built up the ecstasy in her body. She had saved Moriyama's life and thus he became her responsibility. It was a major part of the subtle symbiosis they developed and shared. Parker would hold up her end. Often being on the receiving end of her father's neglect and off-handed cruelty, she was determined not to do that to someone who was depending on her. An idea on how to present this situation to Jarod formed in her mind, just as everything went blank and pleasure enveloped her mind and senses.

**__**

The Centre 

Blue Cove, DE 

It was early morning by the time Sydney walked into his office. Still he had a spring in his step and his heart was light. He entered his darkened office and turned on the lights to find Broots sitting on his couch staring at him. The unexpected sight of his computer geek friend startled him. 

"Broots, what are you doing her so early? And why are you sitting in the dark?"

"Did you get a package this morning?" Broots asked solemnly. 

"Yes, along with instructions," Sydney answered cautiously. The package he received had actually came from Jarod. He spoke slowly to remind his friend of the constant monitoring from the DSA recorders. The note inside also contained instructions to hand over the package left for him to a lawyer who had no affiliations with the Centre. If anything happened to Sydney, then the lawyer would send the pre-addressed package to the Triumvirate. Broots' package was identical but in Miss Parker's handwriting.

Catching the hint, Broots nodded quickly and answered, "Yeah, I already did but I found an interesting e-mail you should look at. That's why I'm here." 

Sydney walked to his computer and stared at the screen Broots had left on his monitor. It contained an e-mailed resignation letter to both the Triumvirate and Tower. Generously using her caustic wit, Parker outlined the reasons for her sudden departure to her employers. A few appreciative chuckles bubbled easily from the older man's lips. Broots had to strain to hear the psychiatrist's words as Sydney said, "Good luck in your new life Parker. Your mother would be proud." 

"Did you know her bodyguard, Moriyama went with her? It was in her letter. She's really something, Sydney. She saved his life and in the end, she didn't abandon either of us." 

"Yes Broots, she most definitely is. You see she has some inherited aspects to her personality from her mother. On the other hand her own sense of morality combined with her unique life experiences…" Sydney had taken his friend by the arm and walked with him out of the office and towards the commissary for an early morning breakfast.

**__**

The Centre - Executive Level

Blue Cove, DE 

He made the familiar trek to her office for what he believed would be the last time. The halls were empty because it was several hours before the main flood of Centre employees were scheduled to report for work. With a heavy heart, Sam stopped just short of the door. He was aware of his reputation among his fellow sweepers. They viewed him as a corporate man who would work for anyone, including Mr. Lyle, but had his preference for Miss Parker. They were right and he felt no shame in admitting that fact to himself. There were a number of things Miss Parker had done in the past which would remain hidden and die with him. Sam felt satisfied in his loyalty for his boss. Working for Lyle had been stressful and watching him torture Jarod wasn't the highlight of Sam's career. The head sweeper knew he would do it again to keep psychos like Mr. Lyle and Mr. Raines from believing he held the secrets she had entrusted to him.

Finally, Sam opened the office door and silently entered. He knew the person he was looking for was somewhere inside. The light was dim but understanding the lethal reputation of the person he was searching for encouraged his caution. Once his eyes became used to the darkness, Sam spotted his target. Lounging on her office couch was Mark. How this lay-about retained his position on her team was beyond Sam. The fact Mark's aim was unprecedented in its accuracy, from shooting a 9mm weapon to a crossbow, was poor compensation. Sam approached his fellow sweeper, momentarily allowing his disgust to overcome his caution.

"Why are you here?" Mark abruptly asked sleepily, startling Sam. 

"I have a message," he replied firmly. The room was still and silent. Sam, having worked for masters who used silence as a weapon heeded Parker's advice and allowed the moment to answer to pass before continuing. "It's in the envelope. I don't want to know what it says, so don't share. My suspicions are good enough." 

"Now why would I do something like that?" 

"You're an odd duck and that's saying something considering where we work," Sam shot back sardonically. 

"Any answering message?" Mark asked. 

"If there is ever anything she needs, she knows how to contact me. The same goes for Lucien." 

"Touching," Mark answered emptily. 

"We were a part of her team while you were murdering fellow sweepers on Brigitte's orders. You can kid yourself but there's nothing wrong with my memory." 

Conceding to Sam's anger, Mark sat up, revealing the silenced 9mm aimed at Sam's head. "Orders are orders. Miss Parker is my boss now, the gray areas don't come up like they used to with Brigitte." Pausing for a few seconds, Mark looked at the other sweeper curiously, "I wonder how this is going to work out?" 

Sam stared at the thin, average Asian who managed to be far more quick-witted than he acted. With a short nod, Sam turned on his heel and walked away. Being reassigned to the Jarod pursuit team full-time would prove to be an interesting assignment. 

Mark watched the loyal sweeper leave; knowing Sam was hurting somewhere deep inside. He was hoping to be no where around when the loss slipped past the muscular sweeper's control and insisted on being felt. Absently picking up the envelope, Mark read, then reread the short note on the page. His earlier question to Sam was answered. Glancing up, Mark stared at the camera in the office--the green light was dark. He hated anyone watching him while he slept. 

'How am I supposed to pack up all her stuff from her house in less than 2 hours?' Mark thought balefully. He promised himself this would be the last time anyone caught him napping again. A promise he made faithfully to himself, then unconsciously broke when he fell fast asleep on the flight to his new life after he finished the long list of tasks Parker had given him. 

**__**

~Fin~

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Author's note: Thanks to those who stuck with the story to the end. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed it. 


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